Harry and Cherry and the Philosopher's Stone
by Nachoman1
Summary: AU story. Harry was born a twin, and the twins Harry and Cherry were never separated. Otherwise, I'll try to follow the line set up on the books. BTW, I don't intend to create pairings, and is NOT a Marie-Sue
1. Foreword

Document type: Alternate Universe (AU) fanfiction / Original character introduction fanfiction.  
  
Source: "Harry Potter" book series,  
  
Description: AU story. Harry was born a twin, and he was never separated from his twin sister, Cherry. Otherwise, I'll try to follow the line set up on the books.  
  
Disclaimer and foreword:  
  
I don't own anything in the "Harry Potter" universe, and I'm making this fanfiction for recreational purposes only. The "Harry Potter" (including "HP and the Philosopher's Stone", "HP and the Chamber of Secrets," "HP and the Prisoner of Askaban" and "HP and the Goblet of Fire") saga, along with its annexes ("Quiddich thruout the Ages" and "Fantastic beast and where to find them"), is property of J K Rowling, as well as all the characters recognisable as coming from the canon of the series. I might create personalities for characters who were named but never really developed in the books, but that doesn't make them mine. On the other hand, this story is mine, as well as any characters not recognisable from the books or movies.  
  
I'll try to respect the books the most I can in this series, and as such I'll try to modify characters and settings the least possible, but I'm not making any promises. Besides, I'll have to edit, modify or chop out many scenes, as I am not planning on rewriting Rowling's work in its full extension. Nonetheless, I'll rewrite certain elements just because I thought they could have been more greatly exploited, but in case I'm about to quote a large portion of text from the canon, I likely will just put an A/N saying 'read the book.'  
  
There are a few scenes and elements I think were better on the movies than on the books, so I might include them; otherwise, I consider myself a bit of a purist. By the way, my interpretation of the Hogwarts uniform is the same as in the books, which has nothing to do with the one seen on screen.  
  
I'm putting lots of spoilers of the four books: You have been warned. I'm also using a technique of semi-omni-sapient narrator, which isn't either common or popular. About the style, it is my personal attempt at mimicking Rowling's style, yet I know it is going to be a bit heavier to read; moreover, I have a little bit of a problem with run-on sentences, and as a non-natural English speaker, I have a great deal of trouble at dealing with dialects (even thou WinWord self-recognices my style as "English (UK)"). Please bear with me in those two little details (as I'm actually trying to improve, not always with success), or tell me of techniques on how to do some self-improvement.  
  
By the way, it is my personal opinion that the Harry of the beginning of the first book had a slave mentality. I don't like it, but I'll try to reflect it. Don't worry, it will dissapear by chapter two.  
  
I was inspired to write this thanks to a story by Sailor J-Chan. I felt her story needed to be rewritten, and after spending three days without being able to stop having ideas on how to rewrite it, I gave in to the temptation. I have completely rewritten the characters and settings of her short story (not to say added plenty), so I know I'm not plagiarizing. I just wanted to state it clearly, though.  
  
It has been called to my attention that this story seems to be flowing towards incest. I can tell you no to worry, as the sole idea revulses me. There might be some weird understanding between my two main characters, but nothing that will ever be remotely sexual.  
  
Comments are always welcome.  
  
On with the story. 


	2. Chapter 1: The Children Who Lived

-------------------------- (if you ever feel confused, please read the foreword. Thanks)  
  
Harry and Cherry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone  
  
In front of a normal house, in a quiet, normal street of the suburbs of London, on the very late night, a strange meeting was taking place. There were an old white-bearded man, and a slightly younger lady, both wearing what can only be called "abnormal" clothing.  
  
"Are you sure that this is a good idea, Professor Dumbledore? I have been watching then all day long, and they are the muggle equivalent to the Wizards' League for Blood Purity!"  
  
"I know, Professor McGonagall, but I will not deny these children the opportunity to live with all they have left of their living family."  
  
"But Albus, they are already being hailed upon by our people. Every child on our world will know its names. It wouldn't even be surprising if this day is named "Potter day"!"  
  
"And that's and even better reason to keep them away from our world until they grow old enough to handle their fame, Minerva. Our people would spoil them if they grow up like heroes, and here they won't know until they are old enough to bear the responsibility. Oh, I think I see Hagrid coming."  
  
Dumbledore was looking up into the horizon, were a point of light was moving and getting brighter.  
  
"And Albus, are you sure it's wise to trust this kind of responsibilities to Hagrid? You know who he is."  
  
"Minerva, I would trust Hagrid with my life."  
  
By now, the point of light had touched down on the opposite extreme of the street and was getting closer. Now it was also obvious the thundering noise of a motorcycle coming from it, and a few seconds later, a large black motorcycle pulled over by the two professors. From it stood a huge man on a moleskin coat, who bent over the motorcycle's sidecar and picked up a couple of bundles. Once he safely got them on his arms, he walked towards the professors.  
  
"Did you have any trouble, Hagrid?" -Dumbledore asked.  
  
"None, professor. The house had already collapsed when I got there, but fortunately Sirius Black had already taken the two kids out. After I got him calmed down he asked me to keep them, but when I explained your instructions, he even gave me his bike. Told me he wouldn't need it any longer."  
  
"Well, and how are the babies, Hagrid?" - Dumbledore said, while taking one of them from Hagrid. McGonagall did the same with the other.  
  
"They are didn't have a scratch, except for those lighting bolt shaped scars. Sirius managed to heal the wounds, but somehow their scars didn't disappear. Can you remove them, professor?" - Said Hagrid, while pointing the forehead of the baby carried by Dumbledore.  
  
"I don't think it would be wise, Hagrid. Magical scars many times come in handy during life, and I know they are magical as they are mirror images on the scar on the other, so much that I suspect the two of them are destined to be mirror images of each other." - . . . - "Well, now we leave them and hope the best for them. Good bye, children of Potter."  
  
He walked up to the entrance and deposited his baby on the step, and then motioned to McGonagall to do the same. Once she had done so, he took out from his robes a letter addressed to "Mr and Mrs Dursley", and a small pouch, both things he left by the sleeping pair of twins. Then he walked away, followed by McGonagall.  
  
"And what is in the pouch, Albus?"  
  
"Oh. That's a deal I made with Gringotts this morning. Every week they will take five galleons from my vault, and they will apparate its equivalent in muggle money into that pouch, and twenty five the week before their birthdays or Christmas. Gold happens to have a much greater value among muggles than among us, so that should be more than enough to pay for the kids' expenses as they grow up.*" - . . . - "Hagrid, please don't feel bad for the kids."  
  
[* I wouldn't really know, but I'm calculating that five galleons would weight a ounce, and since historically the value of gold has always been independent to inflation, that should be a decent allowance either today or in a hundred years. And heck, this year's value of gold (per ounce) hasn't been below US$320 for more than two days straight.]  
  
The huge man took a handkerchief from somewhere in his coat and wiped the silent tears that were rolling down his face. Dumbledore looked up his face, and patted him as high as he could up his arm.  
  
"Sorry professor, but I just can't contain my sorrow. These two lads have lots everything, and they are just so fragile!"  
  
"That they are not, Hagrid, as far as they have each other. Now please lets all of us go to one of the parties, as of course this is a day of happiness."  
  
They walked into the shadows. Soon a motorcycle roared again, and lost itself in the distance. And the next morning, a scream broke the peace of Privet Drive, when Petunia Dursley went out to get the milk... 


	3. Chapter 2: Surprises At The Zoo

--------------- And so, ten more years went by the one-year-old kids, and the children of Potter grew up. ---------------  
  
"Potters, get out of there and serve breakfast! It's Dudley's birthday, so you have to make it perfect!" Aunt Petunia yelled, as she opened widely the door of the cupboard under the stairs. She then closed the door again, opened the small vent on the top of it, and marched to the kitchen. Harold James Potter helped his sister, Cherry Judith Potter, to rise from the old mattress they had to share. Every night they switched sides, and last night she had gotten the bad one.  
  
They removed the shirts they used as pyjamas. With the little light coming from the vent on the door, they stuffed them inside the large, old suitcase they used as a wardrobe, and pulled out a couple of dark green sweatshirts, a grey pleaded skirt and a pair of khaki shorts. All of their clothes seemed to have seen better days, but they ignored this as they pulled them on.  
  
"Lest go Cherry, before they come for us." - Said Harry, as he handed her glasses to his sister. He was very skinny, bordering rachitic, but still had bright in his green eyes. His jet-black short hair looked like her sister's, but was much more messed up than hers; perhaps because gravity had more to pull on her shoulder-length hair, or perhaps because she used it in a braid.  
  
"Okay Harry." - She followed her answer with a sigh, after taking her glasses. Her complexion wasn't any better than his brother, but both her face and voice were just slightly less jagged than his. Perhaps that the Dursleys preferred to hit her on the legs, while they favoured her brother's face. Her eyes were a mirror of her brother's in every way.  
  
He opened the door, but as soon as he had done so, a boy around their own age and height, but about the weight of the two of them, appeared and shoved them back inside. As they were standing in front of the mattress on the floor, when he shoved them they lost their balance and fell heavily on the mattress.  
  
"Good morning, eight eyes!" - The obese boy snickered, and ran into the kitchen. They picked themselves up again, and after that they went out of their cupboard, and to the kitchen.  
  
" ... But last year I had 38 presents!" They heard as they came in. Of course, they knew the Dursley had the custom to buy him an even bigger batch of presents the next Sunday after his birthday, and that he would whine from today (a Tuesday) until he got it. Both of them wished they could make themselves scarce during said week, but of course...  
  
"Boy, serve the omelette! Girl, get us something to drink!"  
  
They obeyed. Harry took out four plates and one platter, and after filling half the omelette on the platter and putting it in front of Dudley, moved to serve the rest to Vernon, Petunia, his sister and himself. Of course, if he served himself or his sister more than to even Petunia, he would pay dearly, so he tried to make the difference noticeable. Meanwhile his sister had gotten Vernon a cup of coffee, Petunia a glass of orange juice, and Dudley half a pitcher of milk. Finished that and knowing the routine, she went to the front entrance to pick up today's bottles of milk and to get the mail. When she picked the mail, she saw one very curious letter on top of it. It was made out of parchment. She got curious and reed the address, which was written in bright green ink.  
  
"Harold James and Cherry Judith Potter.  
  
The cupboard under the stairs  
  
# 4 Privet Drive  
  
Little Whinging  
  
Surrey"  
  
Cherry was thrilled, as she didn't remember either Harry or herself ever receiving a letter. She just stood there looking at it baffled.  
  
"Judith, come back this instant!" - Aunt Petunia yelled. The Dursley never called her by her first name, as they said that 'she was not as special as to be called Cherry'; on the other hand, they called Harry by his first name because the other was the name of their father, which was taboo for the Dursley. She walked back to the kitchen, and after setting the milk in the counter, she walked over and handed Petunia the rest of the mail. Then she walked up to Harry and happily handed him the envelope, as she sat by him in the bar, and started to pummel down her part of the omelette. Just as she and Harry were finishing their eggs, staring at the letter, Dudley screamed.  
  
"Mom, the Potters didn't give you one of the letters!"  
  
"Give that to me, you thieves!" - Roared Petunia. She turned around from her sit at the table and snatched it from Harry.  
  
"Hey, that letter is for us!" - Yelled Harry, quite mad.  
  
"Yeah, that's for us!" - Cherry joined in.  
  
"Shut up, you lying good-for-nothings. Besides, who would ever care to write to you?" - Petunia spat back. Then she turned to the letter, and took a good look at it. She lost the colour of her face.  
  
"Vernon, look at this!" - She said, quite panicky. She handed the letter to Vernon.  
  
"What's that, Petunia?" - He said, frightened. Then he looked at it, and paled as well. After gasping a few seconds, he finally recovered the capability to speak. "Potters ... cupboard ... now!"  
  
"But what about our letter!" Harry spat back.  
  
That made Vernon react. He walked up to the bar, and slapped Harry with his entire arm. Harry went to land in the middle of the kitchen, barely conscious. Cherry was in an instant at his side, helping him up.  
  
"That what your letter is about! Now into the cupboard!"  
  
Harry was still too numbed to understand, so Cherry had to almost drag him into the cupboard, were she settled him in the good side of the mattress, while she let herself fall on the bad one. Her brother was now starting to react, but she shocked her head in his field of vision, and spoke to him.  
  
"That was brave, Harry, but please don't expose yourself like that."  
  
"Okay sis. Thanks."  
  
They both just rested on the bed, trying to get some sleep. Harry wished they could read a book and Cherry wished they could play checkers, but without any light in there, and without wishes to speculate what the letter was all about, the best they had to do was sleep. Anyway, yesterday they hadn't gotten too much, since Petunia had ordered them to clean the kitchen, after Dudley had a tantrum and splashed ketchup all over the walls.  
  
About two hours later, they were rudely awakened, again.  
  
"Potters, get out of there!" - Petunia yelled thru the open door. Then she cleared it, so the two still groggy children could stumble thru. She guided them to the living room, where Vernon waited for them."  
  
"Well Potters, as you already know I'm taking Dudley to the zoo for his birthday, but unfortunately that old hag Figg is nowhere to be found. Since I value my house more than to leave you two alone in it, I'm taking you along; however, if I see a single thing out of the ordinary, a single abnormality, you two will wish you had never been born!" - He yelled on their faces, pointing his words by poking their foreheads. As soon as Vernon had turned they smiled to each other and joined their hands; after all, they had never gone to the zoo.  
  
The entire stay at the zoo was very enjoyable for both Harry and Cherry, even if they had to follow the pretty fast pace set by the "short attention span" family. Unfortunately, the good time ended at the reptile house. Among many smaller ones, there was a big enclosure occupied by a five metre long Amazonian python, with a body as thick as one of Dudley's thighs, and a look about as menacing as a fluffy little white rabbit. In fact, it just looked bored. Both Dudley and Vernon were tapping the glass and yelling at it to move, but after a very short time lost interest and moved along. Harry and Cherry took their places, and after looking with empathy to the expression on the snake's face, started speaking to it.  
  
"Sorry for those two. They just don't understand what it is to live on a cage, and have people rattling its walls." - Harry spoke up.  
  
The snake moved. It faced them, and then lifted its head slightly like a cobra, to face them.  
  
"And how would you know? You are free!" - It spat.  
  
"We sort of live in another, but at least every now and then we get to see the outside." - Cherry finished, as she was the first to react. It seemed to relax the snake, as it lowered its head, and placed it on a curl of its body, as a pillow.  
  
"And having people hitting the hard-air isn't the worst." - Harry wondered what 'hard-air' meant, but Cherry touched the glass wall and he understood. - "The worst is that I always get to eat birds that are already dead, so they are mine to take. And they are always so terribly cold that I can hardly breathe after eating, and right then is when those pink monkeys come and take me out so little monkeys can touch me while I'm defenceless. Right then is when I miss home the most."  
  
"And ... where would that be?" - Harry asked.  
  
"I think it says up there." - Answered the snake. Then it started to lift its head pointing an overhanging sign. Cherry started to read it.  
  
"Well, It reads 'Northern Amazonian Anaconda. South of Venezuela / North of Brazil This specimen was captured at an approximate age of three years, and has lived in this zoo for the past eight'. I see what you mean."  
  
"I'm sorry. I wish we could do something for you." - Continued Harry.  
  
They would have continued the conversation with the anaconda, but Dudley had other ideas.  
  
"DAD, LOOK AT THE PYTHON!!" - He screamed, and then he ran to where the Potter twins were standing, shoving them hard in the process. Both of them fell hard on the concrete floor, side by side, and as soon as they saw the other was more or less fine, they glared at his back with all their hatred. And suddenly, Dudley had fallen thru the glass wall, and went to land on one of the curls of the anaconda, which was so surprised, that didn't react. Dudley scrambled back up to the glass wall, but seeing that it had closed behind him, he ran to the other extreme of the tank, and started hitting the door and screaming of pure terror. The Dursleys were also howling in panic, but even on top of all that noise, the twins could hear the screams of gratitude of the anaconda.  
  
"Thanks, my little amigos! I promise I'll make the best of this one!" - And once it had properly cornered Dudley in front of the door, it gave a final cry. - "No more cold food for Maura!"  
  
It jumped on Dudley, and rolled him away from the door as it curled on him. Unfortunately it had also unblocked the door, from where five handlers came almost instantly, and started to wrestle it off from Dudley. Meanwhile Petunia was crying on Vernon, Harry and Cherry were among a crowd looking into the enclosure, and the snake was giving the fight of its life.  
  
"NO, please! Let me have this ONE!" - It yelled in desperation, as it kept trashing around the four handlers trying to overpower it, while the fifth one was trying to uncurl its tail off Dudley's left ankle.  
  
After Vernon had a shooting match against the chief herpetologist and the zoo administrator (he wanted to get the animal killed, while the others called him 'irresponsible parent'), and after Dudley was freed from the infirmary with nothing but minor bruises, Vernon shoved the twins in the car. Once everyone was on board, he kicked into gear and was off for home faster than either Harry or Cherry had ever seen him. They knew he would never hit them outside of home, and from the hurry he right now had to get home, they knew they had a great punching session on the horizon. They were cowering in fear, while Dudley made his best impression of being in great pain, and Petunia kept cleaning her nose.  
  
At last they reached Privet drive, and the twins were shoved into the house. As soon as Dudley had closed the door behind him, Vernon kicked them both into the floor, and started to remove his long and thick belt. After showing them the heavy buckle that was dangling from it and sneering at their terrified faces, he started to bring it down on them. Thank the Lord for his obesity, that made him be too tired to continue in less than ten minutes; not that it mattered, as the twins had been unconscious the last two.  
  
---------------------- 


	4. Chapter 3: The Flight

----------------------  
  
Cherry woke up. The cupboard was very dark, so she wouldn't know how long had passed. Her mouth tasted like blood. She hardly felt a thing but pain, but she was able to notice that she was entangled with another body. 'Harry!' she thought, scared. After a second she thought relieved that he was warm, so he was still alive, but both of them were in very unnatural positions. She painfully disentangled herself from his body, and with all the energy her mauled body could muster, straitened him on the mattress, and then laid herself by his side, put a hand on his chest, and knew no more.  
  
----------------------  
  
Harry woke up slowly. He was on his back, feeling how his body fed nothing but pain back to his brain. He could specially feel the pain from his right hand, which pierced him like a dagger when he tried to close it. But then he felt something warm laying to the left of his chest. He instantly knew what it was: Cherry's hand.  
  
He raised his left hand to touch her hand, and thru touch he just felt how badly ragged her skin was over her hand, and down her arm. And as it was very painful for him to do so, he knew he would not be any better. And then there was his headache.  
  
Very slowly, he moved his left arm over her head, and ever so slowly, pulled her head over his shoulder. She felt tense, but as soon as he started to pet her she began to relax. He relaxed with her, and slowly drifted back to sleep.  
  
-------------------------  
Harry woke up again. His sister was now hugging his chest, but she was fast asleep. Besides, I wasn't her that had woken him up. He was feeling a stick prodding the right side of his chest, side that was facing the cupboard's door. He groaned when it hit a sore spot. Instantly the stick was removed.  
  
"Harry, Cherry, are you two still alive?" - Dudley spoke mutedly, and surprisingly from him, sounding concerned.  
  
"More or less, both of us." - Harry spoke back, slowly. He was in too much pain for more.  
  
"Good. I wish I could give you one of your letters, but Mom and Dad always manage to get them all in the fireplace before I can get a hold on anyone. The day after the beating 4 came, then yesterday came 16 and Dad blocked the mail slot, and today in the morning we had 64, passing from window crevices to the cracks around the doors." - . . . - "Well, I have also slipped some food under the door. I think you two can make better use of my candy stash than me."  
  
"But, why..." - Harry started, without much energy.  
  
"Because even though I don't like you two, I don't wish you dead." - ... - "Have to go, Harry. My father might wake up."  
  
So Dudley pushed the door closed, and climbed the stairs. Harry proceeded to hide the chocolate bars; after all, Vernon might just open the cupboard in the morning and take them out. Once they were all between the mattress and the far wall, Harry fell back down.  
  
'So finally it happens, and Vernon wants us death.' He thought. It was sort of a relief to finally know that, even if it were for the worse, the Dursleys would end their misery. Would they starve them to death, or would them be planning to poison them. Either way, he knew himself and his sister were already stinking pretty hard, and that Petunia wouldn't tolerate their smell and would make them take a bath, and that in the bathroom they would have an unlimited supply of water. But then, to get to the water they would need energy...  
  
"Cherry, sister, wake up!" - He said, after sitting up and starting to shock his sister. She slowly drifted back into consciousness.  
  
"What's up Harry?" - She said, without energy.  
  
"We got some food, sis." - He replied, as he helped her to sit up. Then he reached across her, took a couple of chocolate bars, and put one on her hand.  
  
"Harry, how...?"  
  
"Dudley, sis; he passed me like forty of these. Apparently he has some heart in himself."  
  
"But then why, bro? What would make him pass us food?"  
  
"It seems that it has finally happened."  
  
Cherry didn't reply to that. She and Harry were quite accustomed to the idea of getting punished by being sealed in their cupboard without meals, and had talked about the possibility of the Dursleys one day deciding to not lift the punishment. Now that a padlock closed their door, and that Dudley had decided to show some humanity, such possibility seemed more than likely. Cherry closed the gap with her brother, and hugged him. He hugged her back, and they silently cried on each other. After a few minutes they calmed down and just continued sharing each other, just as they had shared many other moments of despair, trying to give to the other the strength they lacked themselves.  
  
It took them a long time to part, as it always did. Then they unwrapped their chocolates and ate in silence. They didn't stop until each of them had downed at least four, and then they went back to sleep.  
  
"Hopefully we are smelly enough to require a bath." - Cherry said.  
  
"Yeah, I'm thirsty, too. Good night, Cherry."  
  
"Good night, Harry."  
  
------------------------  
  
A horrific noise above their heads made them wake up with a start. Petunia was standing in front of the opened cupboard, and was shaking a meat tenderizer inside a large pot. She stopped as soon as she noticed them looking at her with beady eyes.  
  
"Get up, you two! I want you in the bathroom in five minutes, and if you aren't bathed in half an hour, you won't eat today!" - Then she disappeared into the kitchen.  
  
They knew the drill, as they had created many to do everything under time. They took two old bathrobes out off their suitcase and ran into the bathroom. There Cherry helped Harry undress, and as he used the shower (and drunk some of its water), she undressed herself, undid her braid, and did her business with the toilet. As soon as he left the shower she jumped in, and as he did his own business in the toilet and started drying himself, she washed. Then she too jumped out off the shower and dried herself, while her brother dried her hair and made again her braid. Now dry, they sprinted back into the cupboard and got dressed in clean clothes, and carrying their bundles of dirty clothes, marched into the kitchen.  
  
If they had done everything at their usual speed they would have finished with time to spare, but they didn't have too much energy, so...  
  
"Hardly, but still on time. Now you know what to do." - Said Petunia, while she unlocked the back door. They knew that, too, as it was part of the drill. They went out and began washing their clothes (although it was Cherry who did most of the washing, thanks to Harry's swollen right hand), but had too little energy to really remove the bloodstains from them. They did their best, though, and once they had it hanging, they walked back in. As on routine, Petunia would pick it up in about two hours (whether they were dry or not), and would leave it by their cupboard in a plastic bag, which then they would use to pick up any garbage inside the cupboard.  
  
"Finished? Now serve breakfast!"  
  
And the breakfast routine repeated itself, except that it was now her who served the omelette and Harry who served the drinks. All routine, up to when he was going to get the mail.  
  
"Where do you think you are going, boy?" - Roared Vernon.  
  
"Well... I was going..."  
  
"To get the mail, I guess!" - Completed Vernon. - "No more mail comes to this house! And now you and your sister, you have five minutes to be back in your cupboard! Otherwise you'll get it!"  
  
Harry didn't reply. After having served Petunia, Cherry jumped to the bar and set her eggs and Harry's. He sat by her, and they started to down the eggs at top speed. The eggs were still very hot, but the two of them had to swallow the pain while they tried to ensure they got some nourishment. Their mouths were really hurting them when they finished, but they managed to, and ran back into the cupboard, were they panted. A few minutes later Vernon passed by.  
  
"Good boys, you gained your next meal. Now sit there on your butts and let me believe that you don't exist." - Vernon hissed on their faces. Then he slammed the door on their faces, closed the vent (eliminating any light inside), and marched away, whistling.  
  
The twins panted in the dark for a few minutes. Their mouths were badly burnt, but they were very cheerful: their nightmare wasn't really upon them, or at least not yet. After they stopped panting they each ate a chocolate bar, and started to talk mutedly. They were still very much in pain, so after just a while they were nodding off again.  
  
-------------------  
  
A few hours later, they were awakened by the screams of Vernon, which were coming from the living room.  
  
"AHH! This does it! We are going out of here, NOW!"  
  
"But dad..."  
  
"We are out of here in five minutes, so go and pack clothes! No arguments."  
  
So they heard three sets of foots hurriedly going up the stairs, and a few minutes later they heard them come out. Meanwhile they were packing everything they had on their suitcase, so when Vernon came to unlock them, they were ready. Everything except the chocolates, as picking them up was proving to be far too noisy.  
  
"Now, get in the car!" - Upon seeing that he was nearing purple and was missing half of his moustache, they didn't say a word. Luckily the bag of their clean clothes was waiting for them outside, so in a quick swing Harry picked up the bag, shoved it in the suitcase, and helped Cherry pull it out the house.  
  
Once everyone's luggage and butts were on the car, Vernon started driving. He did so with a fury, as he went to London and started to zigzag around the city, until he hit a dirt road going into nowhere. Then he would take the first fork, and then change roads again, but would avoid the motorways. Every time his random road changing brought them into a farm he would ramble for a moment, and would make a sharp U-turn while mumbling "... not far enough, not yet... ", And would resume his erratic driving, which on all the zigzag where more or less driving them north. He had started around noon, and didn't feel satisfied until well after nightfall, when he finally pulled up in a little motel, in the outskirts of some town lost in the map.  
  
Vernon ordered an extra bed to be brought into the single room he had rented (to keep everyone under his sight), and after they ate what he had bought to simulate a dinner (corned beef and crackers), they all went to sleep.  
  
Pretty early in the morning somebody knocking the door awakened them. A scared looking Vernon approached the door and asked, opening wide. Harry, Cherry, Dudley and Petunia were right behind him, looking at a bewildered looking maid.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"Sorry to wake you up sir, but in the front desk we just received a ton of this letters." - Then she lifted the letter for them to see.  
  
H J & C J Potter  
  
The portable bed  
  
Room 5  
  
'The happy Farmer' Motel  
  
Wood hall Spa  
"When I felt with it, the guys had counted near two hundred and were still counting." - She added.  
  
Vernon was very much less than impressed.  
  
"We are NOT Potters! We are DURSLEYS!"  
  
He closed the door on her face, and started to pull his hair. Then turned to the people around him.  
  
"Okay, we move in ten minutes!"  
  
And so, in ten minutes they were already hitting the road, and except for a stop to refuel (and use a toilet), they didn't stop for the rest of the day. The difference is that now Vernon wasn't going erratically, but was zigzagging west. He didn't smile or said a word until he saw the sea (around late evening), time at which he locked everyone inside the car, and went to out of the car.  
  
"Has dad gone crazy, mom?" - Asked Dudley after they had waited for a while.  
  
After about half an hour, when night was frankly falling, he came back. He was holding a couple of black plastic bags, and a huge grin.  
  
"Now everyone, take your stuff and lets move. I got us some food and a safe place to stay. See that little island over there? And today there is storm forecast!"  
  
He pointed out at sea, beaming. In effect there was a rock a few hundred metres out at sea, and in top of it was a hut. The twins looked at each other in dread, which soon was well founded: once everyone got on board of a quite big boat, Vernon made them row, and being weak as they already were, it took them forever. Once they touched the other side, Vernon yelled at them for having taken so long, and led everyone into the little house. Said house only had the main room and a bedroom, was cold and humid, smelled like rotten wood, and started to squeal as soon as the promised storm arrived, but at least seemed to be better than being outside, as the door closed and the windows weren't missing panels.  
  
The 'food' Vernon had gotten turned out to be a handful of cookies and five apples, but having nothing else, they ate and prepared to bed. Petunia found a couple of old comforters in the bedroom, so she used one to make Dudley a bed in a mouldy sofa in front of the empty fireplace, and used the other for herself and her husband, in the bedroom. After laying Dudley and 'wishing good night' to the twins, she and Vernon retired to the bedroom. The only thing the twins had to do was what they did: put on the coats they used in winter (which were pretty damp, thanks to the boat ride), and try to curl together inside the suitcase, even if their legs were still popping out.  
  
They weren't getting any sleep, so they were the first ones who noticed as something took a mighty blow at the hut's door. The entire hut shuddered, and Dudley woke up.  
  
"Were is the cannon?" - He asked stupidly.  
  
When a second blow hit the hut's door, Vernon and Petunia came out of their room, and Dudley went to cower behind the two grown ups. Harry and Cherry were putting their shoes on, but still did notice that Vernon had his hand inside one of the plastic bags, apparently holding something.  
  
When the door received a third blow, it just caved in. Just then a lightning illuminated the exterior, showing a human-looking figure covered in a black overcoat, so big in fact that it was leaning and its head was still just as high as the upper frame of the door. This colossal figure entered with some effort (it was also slightly wider than the door), and as if such thing was normal it straightened as much as the low roof of the hut let it do, turned to pick up the door and place it back on its frame. Then it turned and spoke, with a good-natured but very rough male voice.  
  
"Sorry about that. I guess I knocked a bit too hard."  
  
Vernon finally reacted. He pushed Petunia and Dudley into the bedroom, closed behind them, and confronted the man.  
  
"I demand you leave at once! You are breaking and entering!"  
  
"Oh Dursley, stuff a sock on it. Since the twins weren't receiving their letters, I came to deliver in person. Oh, there you are, boys!"  
  
"STOP right there. I'm armed!"  
  
The twins looked at the silhouette of a gun in Vernon's hand. The big man in 'danger' took a step toward Vernon, took the gun from Vernon, easily bent the cannon on a U shape, and handed it back to Vernon.  
  
"Go on, Dursley, fire. That way I'll have some peace while the kids read their letter." - ... - "Oh, but we don't have any light here! I'll solve the problem." - He reached inside his coat, and after some rummaging pulled out a couple of logs, a small liquor bottle, and a lighter. He threw the logs on the fireplace, threw some of the liquor on top of them, and played with the lighter, which every time was giving a different colour flame.  
  
"Yellow, not good on unprepared wood... red, not good for reading... purple, same case... blue, too little light... green, too much heat... ah, white flame!"  
  
He neared the lighter to the logs, and there, the white flame easily spread over the liquor, and started to illuminate the room. It illuminated the face of the giant, which seemed as good-natured as your average good old lady. He sat on the sofa on which Dudley had been sleeping, and patted it.  
  
"Come near kids, don't be afraid! Aren't you cold there in the corner?"  
  
Strangely enough, they weren't truly afraid of the giant. Hand in hand, they cautiously approached the light. The giant lost his smile as soon as he saw the state they were in. He jumped and checked their faces on the light, and then their clothes, and then their arms, and then stopped on Harry's swelling hand. He stood up in fury (hitting the roof with his head), and then lowered himself back and walked up to Vernon. With a single hand he lifted Vernon by the front of his shirt, and started shouting in his face. It was incredible, as Vernon was as fat as a pig.  
  
"What have you done with these kids? They were given to you as sacred task to care for, and they are malnourished! Their clothes are old and worn! They look like they were beaten soon ago, and Harry has an advanced untreated infection in his hand!" - . - "And what have you done with all the money Professor Dumbledore sends you every week? With so much money, they should be clean and fat!"  
  
The twins looked at each other confused. After all, every now and then Vernon or Petunia would spat at them how expensive it was for them to raise them, even if their uncles had never given them any pocket money, and always bought their clothes in second hand stores. Meanwhile, Vernon was shaking between killing this giant man and begging him for mercy, but the latter option seemed to be gaining dominancy. He opened his mouth and started to speak, very fast.  
  
"They deserve punishment! They are learning to use their ma. ma. magic, and when we took them in we promised to stamp it out of them; otherwise, somebody will come and blow up us the same as their parents."  
  
"But didn't our parents die in a car crash?" Cherry spat.  
  
This gave new energies to the giant.  
  
"How could you, Dursley, tell them such Rubbish? NO car crash could ever kill the Potters!" - Then he paused for a second, with a scared face. This one only lasted for a second, as he put his other hand on Vernon's head to make him look at his face. - "Do you mean that they don't know ANYTHING about the world of their parents, their heritage? Don't the 'Children who lived', the two biggest names among all living wizards and witches, know their own story?"  
  
Vernon had now actually pissed his pants, and was shocking his head with closed eyes, while he squealed something sounding like "senseless rubbish." When the giant dropped him in repugnancy, he just crumbled in place and kept muttering like a mantra. Then the giant brushed his hand against his pants and turned around to face the twins. What little showed of his face was still red, but now his black eyes were filled with concern. He sat back on the couch and invited the twins to sit by him. They wouldn't normally trust a ferocious-looking stranger, but from the beginning they felt safe around him; that, and that he had given Vernon a scare on their behalf. So they sat on the little space he left free to his left on the sofa, and looked up at him, curious.  
  
"Did you just say that we are wizards, sir?" - Ventured Cherry.  
  
"Oh yeah, kids, and pretty damn good if your parents had anything to do. They were Head Boy and Head Girl of their generation and as good a witch and wizard as they ever get."  
  
"Err... Sir, who might you be?" - Harry said, still not understanding a thing.  
  
"Oh, I had forgotten to tell you, hadn't I? My name is Rubeus Hagrid, keeper of keys and grounds of Hogwarts. Just call me Hagrid. By the way, give a second, kids." - ... - "Here is your letter."  
  
He took out another parchment letter like the one that had started it all. Harry and Cherry checked it out.  
  
"Harold James and Cherry Judith Potter  
  
The big suitcase on the floor  
  
Hut-on-the-rock  
  
The sea"  
The back was closed by a red wax seal, which had a coat of arms on it. (A/N: Last thing I need is to actually go over descriptive, so I'll just skip the description) Harry broke it and pulled out a leaf of parchment, written in emerald green ink.  
HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY  
  
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore (...)  
  
Dear Mr. and Ms. Potter:  
  
We are glad to inform you that you two have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.  
  
Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.  
  
Yours sincerely,  
  
Minerva McGonagall  
  
Deputy Headmistress  
  
Post data: I hope this letter finds you two well. We know latter letters haven't been delivered successfully, so we sent Rubeus Hagrid, our gamekeeper, to ensure its delivery.  
  
Many questions spun to life in the heads of the twins, just as Cherry had pulled out the booklist. The first one that occurred to either of them to actually ask was 'and what is an owl?' half-spoken by Harry. Hagrid hit his palm on his forehead so hard that the twins shuddered.  
  
"'Olly Owl, I 'ad forgotten!" - And then he went again to rummage his coat. From it he extracted a piece of parchment and a quill. He wrote on his knees, so it was easy for the twins to see what he was writing.  
Mr Dumbledore:  
  
I just gave the twins their letter, and as instructed I'm taking them to buy their school stuff tomorrow; however, I won't send them back to the Dursleys once we are done. You know I would never disobey your instructions, but in this case I have a very good reason to do so. Please send Madam Pomfrey to the Leaky Cauldron in the morning, to examine the kids.  
  
By the way, the weather's horrible. I hope the owl doesn't get blown too far off course.  
  
Hagrid  
Then Hagrid tucked the quill back into his coat, and after a few seconds pulled out a very alive, dark brown owl, that shock its head as soon as it saw the light. Hagrid gave it the letter and threw it out the window, and returned by to the sofa; as such act was as normal as making a phone call. Meanwhile, the twins had silently agreed on a single paramount question they needed to ask. They were now standing up in front of the fire.  
  
"But Mr Hagrid, are you sure there is no mistake, I mean, we don't have any magic." - Cherry said. Harry nodded in agreement.  
  
"Oh, are you so sure about that, kids? You are untrained, so you are unable to consciously use it, but think hard: haven't you ever made stuff happen, when you were afraid, or angry?" - He said, finishing with a knowing grin.  
  
The twins looked at each other in surprise. Now that it came to mind, it had been an awful lot of times that both him and Cherry had seem weird stuff happen around them. If a teacher was ever specially mean to them, his or her hair might turn a different colour or caught fire; also, a few times that one of them might get a nasty cut, they might completely heal by the time they washed the cut. Or the time Petunia shaved Harry's head, and his hair grew back overnight. Or at the zoo: after all, they were really furius with Dudley...  
  
Seeing their confused faces, Hagrid put his very heavy hands on their shoulders, and once he had their attention, he spoke again.  
  
"Listen, lads: as you already reed from that owl I sent my boss, Professor Dumbledore..." - He made a pause, while the twins blushed. - ". I came here with instructions to pick you up, get your school stuff, and return you to your 'family'; however, if you accept it, I'll promise you that you won't have to ever go uncared for again. I guess Mr. Dumbledore will now make sure to relocate you somewhere people will take you in with open arms, and I don't think it will come to that, but if that's what it takes, I'll even renounce my position at Hogwarts to take you in myself. What do you say?"  
  
The twins looked at each other in amazement. Somebody had just offered them the love and care they had always wished for! They didn't care if it was somebody they had met just half an hour ago, he had already proven himself a better paternal figure than Vernon would ever do. They flung themselves into Hagrid's body, and started to jump and cry in joy.  
  
After nearly five minutes of this, Hagrid peeled them off his body and cleaned the tears from their faces. Then went one more time to search his coat, and from it pulled two chipped mugs and a large bottle, containing something that looked like water. He pulled out the cork and offered it to them.  
  
"Drink up, kids; it's a numbing potion diluted in a nutritive one, so your injuries will stop hurting. I would give you a healing one, but I would ratter keep the proof until a healer can write a full report to Dumbledore. If you excuse me, I have one last business to attend with your uncle."  
  
Cherry (who could use both hands) served Harry and herself, and they began drinking the clear, milk-like tasting substance; meanwhile, Hagrid reared back towards Vernon, who had already reacted again, and was trying to blend with the scenery. He picked Vernon to his feet, and kept him at arm's length.  
  
"Well Vernon, now that your 'responsibility' has been lifted from your shoulders, I want you to give me the magic money pouch."  
  
"No, I won't! They have costed my family much more than that old crackpot Bumblebee ever sent me, and I as such I will keep it until I get a full compensation!" - Vernon ventured, shivering.  
  
Hagrid looked at him like he had gone off his rocker, and calmly pulled out a pink umbrella out of his coat. He spoke softly, but his fury resounded deeply in his low voice.  
  
"Never-insult-Albus-DUMBLEDORE-in-front-of-me!" - He lightly touched Vernon's forehead with the tip of the umbrella, and Vernon instantly lost all his air, his ears went pointy, and acquired the nose of a pig. Then Hagrid let him go, and kept him pointed at.  
  
"Now, if you know what's best, give me the pouch."  
  
Vernon removed his hands of his now porcine-looking face, and looked up at Hagrid with pure horror. Then he put his hand in his rear pocket and extracted a very worn, little black leather pouch. Hagrid took out the fat bundle of money it currently housed, gave the money to Harry (who was the nearest to him), and threw the now empty pouch into the fire. Once he was satisfied with the look of despair on Vernon eyes, he picked his unresisting form from one of his shoulders, and steered him towards the bedroom, kicked the door open, and threw him inwards. Then he closed the door (ignoring the shrieks from inside), and walked back to the twins. They all sat on the couch, at the light of the fire.  
  
"Well, that matter solved, we can move out of here. Have you finished your potion yet?"  
  
As an answer, Cherry held up the half-empty bottle.  
  
"Well, while you finish it up, I might tell you what that pig denied you. And by the way, I would really appreciate if you don't tell anybody about that bit of magic. I'm not actually supposed to do magic."  
  
"How so?" - Harry asked.  
  
"Well... Happens that I was expelled from the school. Dumbledore, the good man, insisted to keep me around and got me trained as gamekeeper."  
  
"And why were you expelled, then?" - (Cherry)  
  
"Well, as I was telling you, I'll have to tell you what your crap of an uncle denied you. I actually wouldn't want to tell you this, but you just can't go into our world without knowing; damn, your names are in most modern history books by now!" - Both Harry and Cherry had trouble following the extremely abrupt subject change. - "Well, quite a bit of it isn't really known, but everything goes around You-know-who."  
  
"Who?" - Said the twins at once, quite confused.  
  
"Oh darn, I just can't believe that you two don't know it!" - ... - "Okay, I'll say it once, and won't say it again. His name was... was..." - And then he went silent, gaping his mouth.  
  
"And so?" - Harry ventured.  
  
"Darn it, I can't say it. Let me write it somewhere."  
  
He pulled out his quill and another piece of parchment, but hadn't written more than 'Vold' before his hand started shaking so hard that ended smearing the entire parchment. He made it into a ball and threw it into the fire, and looked at the twins with resignation. - "As I had already said, I won't repeat it: Voldemort." - Hagrid shuddered. - Well, this individual went as close to pure evil as anything can ever go, and about twenty years ago began a bid to power, and with it brought a dark age to the wizarding world. For him whoever wasn't with him was against him, and himself or his many followers would go hunting down his enemies. Dumbledore was the only wizard that You-Know-Who was afraid of, and your mom and dad were as good as they ever go, and were in Dumbledore's inner circle. Its said that he might have tried to persuade your parents to join his ranks, but they didn't bulge, so he procedded to kill them. In Halloween ten years ago he appeared in your house, processed your parents, and then turned to you. There is where the mistery really lays: that when he tried to curse you, using the single curse he had used so successfully in tons of great and powerful wizards of the age, and something in the two of you somehow made the curse bounce back at him, and destroyed him. That's why you two are called "the children who lived" in our world." - He looked down at their mugs, and seeing them empty, stood up from the couch.  
  
"Well, now that you have finished with your potion, we better get going. Its past midnight, and I don't want Tom to close before we get to him. " - He stood up, and helped the twins out the now-sunk sofa.  
  
"Okay boys, go and gather your stuff. And Harry, see if you can move your hand now."  
  
Cherry went toward the suitcase, while Harry just stood by Hagrid, checking the mobility of his swollen hand. He was surprised not to feel any pain.  
  
"Its good that you can move it, but better don't; you might do more harm than good. Now better move and her your sister."  
  
No need for that. She was already returning, dragging the suitcase behind her.  
  
"What, is that all you are bringing, or is it that the rest of your stuff is still at Privet Drive?" - Hagrid asked.  
  
"No, this is all we got." - Cherry answered matter-of-fact.  
  
Hagrid took a dirty look at the bedroom door (from where a squeal came from), but shock his head. He better took a couple of wrapped chocolate- covered cherries out of one of the exterior pockets of his coat, and offered them to the twins.  
  
"Wait. Before you open them, listen to this. The moment you touch their filling you'll be transported, so I recommend to you to hug your suitcase, count to three, and bite them hard. So, unwrap them, put them on your mouths, and go. I'll follow shortly." - He said, while starting to unwrap one for himself. They followed his example, and while hugging the suitcase, they put the chocolates on their mouths, and nodded to each other. They both counted.  
  
" One. two. three!" - They counted, and bit their chocolates together. Then their visions became blurry and they felt like the cherries on their mouths were pulling them away. After less than a second of this, they appeared somewhere. It seemed to be a dark and shubby pub, and there were hardly any patrons to "decorate" the place, many of them being dark silhouettes that had turned to them for a second before loosing interest. All of them but a young, slim man, wearing an apron and a badge reading "Host". This man calmly walked up to them.  
  
"Good night, little fellows, welcome to the 'Leaky Cauldron.' Do you want a table?"  
  
The kids looked at each other for a second, but before much more, Hagrid appeared by them. The young man beamed in recognition.  
  
"Oh Hagrid, what a surprise: I don't think I had seen you turn in so late in years! Do you want the usual?"  
  
"No Johnny, I'd ratter have you go and bring your father. Tell him that it is for a matter of top importance."  
  
"Okay, Hagrid. Nice seeing you anyway!" - Johnny ran into a half hidden corridor. After a minute he came back accompanied by a sixty-years-old, bald version of himself, wearing pyjamas and an unamused expresion.  
  
"Hello, Hagrid. What is this matter of such importance?"  
  
"Let me tell you Tom, but please keep it quiet." - Then Hagrid lent forward and began talking hushedly in Tom's ear. Tom's face went from attentive, to alarmed, and settled into an ashuring expresion.  
  
"Don't worry, as soon as she comes I'll send her there. And don't worry for your tab, Hagrid, today's on the house." - Then he turned to the kids and smiled. - "Well, young fellows, lets find you a room for the night. John, go for some good soup. And Hagrid, might you help with the bag? You know, I'm not so young anymore..."  
  
So Tom, who turned out to be the owner of "The Leaky Cauldron" (the best known 'pub and inn' in the wizarding England, and one of the best of Great Britain), guided them up the stairs and into a room. After setting them in and receiving their soups, he excused himself to go and arrange a room for Hagrid.  
  
Once Tom had gone, Hagrid sat on a bed and watched in silence as they ate their soups. Once they had finished, he took away their empty plates.  
  
"Its almost 1 AM, and tomorrow we'll have a busy day, so you'll need all the sleep you can get. I'll go and check if Tom has my room ready. Good night."  
  
"But... won't you stay with us?" - Cherry asked, pleadingly.  
  
"Mmh... sorry, but I can't. I just don't fit in this room, and I'm pretty sure you will be way too little in mine. Don't worry, I'll be around in the morning."  
  
And without saying more, he left the room. The kids looked at the room around them and understood: Hagrid had sat on one of the beds because non of the chairs in the room seemed to half as wide as Hagrid, and the beds were normal, so they would never house someone the side of Hagrid; besides, the room only had two individual beds, so not even the question was good.  
  
It took them some moving around, but finally got comfortable and fell asleep.  
  
-------------------  
  
-------------------  
  
So, this is the story so far.  
  
No pun intended against anyone named Judith, or living in 'Woodhall Spa', GB. The first is because I just don't like the name Judith (but chose it because it will be useful in book 4), and the second is because I actually decided to keep accurate I decided to look for a little town due-north of London (in fact, I chose it because it didn't appear on all the maps, so it can be said that is a town "lost in the map"). If there was such hotel named "THe Happy Farmer" in Woodhall Spa, believe me that it is purely coincidental. The closest to England I have ever been is Ottawa, Canada, so I had to make up an unlikely name.  
  
I hope to upload the next chapter soon, although soon can be anyday between 28 february (today, according to the clock), or same day next month. I already drew an outline of the entire set of modifications I'm making to the first book, but there are still plenty of details to polish. Recommendations are always welcome.  
  
Please review.  
  
Bye 


	5. Chapter 4: Diagon Alley

(Please read the author notes that I spread over the text. They actually matter).  
  
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-  
  
Knock, Knock, Knock.  
  
Harry heard the knocking on the door, but didn't want to wake up just yet. Not from that so wonderful dream he had had.  
  
He felt a hand seeking his, took it, and knew that he hadn't had that dream alone. He and Cherry had shared the dream of a gentle giant avenging them on Vernon and taking them on a new life, and it had just been wonderful. They wanted to hold to it.  
  
Knock, Knock, Knock.  
  
Cherry felt her brother gently squezzing her hand, and she returned it. They wouldn't be able to hold for much longer. Only until Petunia lost her patience and decided to kick them up...  
  
The door squealed open now.  
  
A short pause  
  
"HARRY! CHERRY! WHERE ARE YOU!" - The voice sounded truly terrified for their behalf. And it sounded like coming out of a certain ferocious- looking, good-natured man. The twins jumped trying to get up, but they happened to be sleeping under one of the beds. Both of them hit the beams pretty hard. Hard enough for Hagrid to hear, and aproach the bed under which they were, and lift it well clear the floor, and sigh when he saw their bewildered expresions.  
  
"Darn, kids, what are you doing on the floor? You really scared me!"  
  
Harry motioned to speak.  
  
"Well... sorry. We just didn't feel comfortable on the beds. I don't know, like..."  
  
"Out in the open?" - A lady standing behind Hagrid said, cutting Harry.  
  
"Well, I guess so." - Answered Harry, dubiusly. After a second Cherry nodded in agreement.  
  
"Hagrid, you weren't exagerating." - The lady, who was wearing clothes reminicent of a nurse or a nun, approached them, and helped them get up. Apparently, they had removed the comforter from one of the beds, had laid it below the bed, and had slept on it, wearing the old shirts they wore as nightshirts. As soon as they were on their feet she picked up one of Cherry's arms, and constantly shock her head in disapproval while she checked it. It seemed odd to the twins, as her exam more than pocking and proving seemed to be hovering her hand up and down the arm while muttering some mantra under her breath. Eventually she dropped Cherry's hand, and without stopping shaking her head in reproval, picked up the black tote bag she had left in the entrance, and once back inside the room, closed the door behind her.  
  
"By the way, Hagrid, you can drop the bed now. I think you are scaring the kids." - The lady said, in a matter-of-fact voice. Hagrid looked unconfortably at the bed he had pinned on the roof, barely above his head; after a second the kids moved out of the way (pulling the comforter), and Hagrid placed the bed back down. With the bed back on the floor, the lady cleared her throat.  
  
"Well Hagrid, I should ask you to leave now. I want to be alone with my patients for the next few hours. I believe you have some business at Gringotts, don't you?"  
  
"Yeah, but I'd ratter get on those damned fast cars the least I can. I'll go when I take the lads. Care for some breakfast, Ma'am Pomfrey?"  
  
"No thanks, Hagrid, but I think the kids might. Just please keep this door closed for the next two hours."  
  
"Okay, ma'am. And by the way kids, this is Poppy Pomfrey, Matron of Hogwarts." - And with that Hagrid walked out the door.  
  
The lady took the comforter out of the twins' hands and threw it on top of the bed. Then she pushed the kids towards the other one.  
  
"Sit on the bed, Mr. and Ms. Potter. I'll be with you in a second." - As the twins sat on the other untouched bed, the witch drew from her robes a foot long, polished wooden stick - presumably a magic wand - pointed the stick to the extremely ruffled bed, and the bed started to make itself: the base reset itself against the wall, the mattress recentered itself on the base, the pillow jumped up from the floor, and pillow, sheets and comforter straigthened themselves on the mattress. Once it was done, she turned back to the kids, whose jaws had hit the floor.  
  
"Don't be so surprised, Mr. and Ms. Potter. Even if that one was a pretty advanced charm, I would still expect either of you to be able to do simple ones in little or no time. And now, let me see that swollen hand of yours, Mr. Potter..."  
  
So, the examination began. The lady, who instead of physician or nurse called herself a "mediwitch", examined both of them up and down and asked them about certain old injuries (whether or not they had visible scars), while stopping now and then to make notes on a parchment. One specially disconcerting moment was when the lady muttered something like "what must be done, must be done", and put both of her hands on Cherry's hips; after a few awkward seconds, a wide smile spread over her factions, and after she had documented her findings - whatever they were * -, she became of a good mood. Her good mood didn't hold once she found the place on Cherry's back were Petunia had once hit her with a hot iron, but it had been a nice smile.  
  
[ * A/N: I wouldn't want to spell it, but sexual abuse wouldn't be out of the question in a house such as Dursleys'; therefore, checking Cherry's virginity was something that had to be done.]  
  
After around an hour worth of exam, she finally rolled up her parchment, an began doing the actual healing. Beyond the bandaging of Harry's right hand, the kids had trouble following the lots of wandwaving going around them; however, they didn't have so much trouble noticing that their injuries, and even thier years-old scars were vanishing. The lady also made them drink deeply from a bottle full of some gooey, snot-green, repulsive-tasting liquid, that supposedly would supress pain, give them streght, and help them heal any old scars, except the lightning-shaped ones on their foreheads. Strangely it sat fine on their stomaches, but what that revolting substance did, without a doubt, was leave them the worse aftertaste of their lives: as bitter as raw, unprepared liver, and as salty as they had been drinking brine...  
  
Exactly two hours after Hagrid had left (according to the clock on the wall), the door was knocked. Madam Pomfrey aswered.  
  
"Come in."  
  
It was Hagrid, carrying a tray on his hands.  
  
"Sorry, Ma'am Pomfrey. I hope I didn't come too early"  
  
"No problem, Hagrid, I had already finished for today." - Then she paused, noting the tray on Hagrid's hands. - "However, I don't think they will be eating any time soon: I just made each of them drink a quart an a half of green revitalizing potion."  
  
"The green one! Mmh!" - He shuddered - "Do you know when will the aftertaste wear off?"  
  
"I wouldn't be really sure, Hagrid. It would normally wear off in three hours, but it had been years since the last time I had patients sufficently malnourished to require it, so the potion might have lost some power. It might wear off sooner."  
  
"Good. I was hoping to buy them a cake..."  
  
The kids looked at each other in awe, as they remembered: today, 31 july, was their eleventh birthday! And they had already received the best present ever: freedom. As they were seated side by side on the bed, they hugged each other. But then they separated, as they remembered there were other people around: at the Dursleys', they had 'painfully' learned not to show affection for each other in public. Besides, they had never had their birthday celebrated at all.  
  
The adults hadn't noticed anything, though.  
  
"Well Hagrid, I have to go now, and report back to Dumbledore. I know he believes in second chances, but not even him will ever send them back after he hears from me. Scars all over their bodies! Untreated injuries! Malnourishment set in firmly enough that it will delay puberty! * Believe me, Hagrid, if Albus has never been on a bad mood, he will likely be first time today!"  
  
[ * A/N: True. Long-set malnourishment might delay puberty up to the age of 15 or 16, the same way as 'overnourishment' (aka Mc-Waistlines) or hormonal abnormalities can make them happen as early as 7 years of age (or in extremely rare cases, even much sooner). If you don't trust my word, go and do your own research, and wonder.]  
  
She had taken all that on a single breathe, so she paused to breath again. - "Let me give you a list of potions for the kids. Give it to Tom, and make sure they take them for dinner." - She turned back to her bag, took out a new piece of parchment, and began writing on the desk. After a few minutes she turned back and handed it to Hagrid. He sat the tray on the unoccupied bed, red the note, and made a face.  
  
"More green revitalizer? Are you sure they wouldn't be better back with their so called family?"  
  
The woman glared up at Hagrid.  
  
"Don't make stupid jokes, Hagrid! Keep reading!"  
  
"Already did, ma'am. They'll need a quart each with dinner, but from tomorrow forward they can go on regular healing potions, as far as somebody watch what they eat." - He grinned at her. - "Come on, Ma'am Pomfrey, it isn't like it hadn't been a nice try!"  
  
"You may try harder, before I ever stop taking seriously my job!" - Then she put the quill on her bag and closed it. She picked up her bag and motioned toward the door, but stopped before opening it.  
  
"Harry, you might take of the bandage as soon as the potion's aftertaste wears off. It might still hurt, but most of the damage will have been undone, and if it hurts too much you can ask Hagrid for a numbing potion." - ... - "I'll come back in three days to examine you again, and until then I want you two to, as your generation would say, 'stay cool'. Even if you might look healthy now, that's because I put cosmetic charms on anything I couldn't heal without the potion; so, you two can still reopen certain wounds even if they don't look. Understood?"  
  
"Sure, ma'am." - They both answered, partially lying. She didn't seem to notice the look of doubt their eyes had.  
  
"Good. See you later, then."  
  
She opened the door, and left.  
  
"Well, with the matron gone now, I think we need to get moving ourselves. Do you still have your letter, kids?"  
  
"Sure." - Harry answered. They both jumped off the bed and towards their suitcase, and after a few seconds Cherry pulled the letter out of the pocket on the skirt she was wearing yesterday.  
  
"Good. Take out the booklist, and as soon as you have dressed we'll go shopping. I'll be back in fifteen."  
  
He left the room. As they got ready, the twins took a quick look at the booklist.  
HOGWART SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY  
UNIFORM  
  
First Years will require:  
  
1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)  
  
2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear  
  
3. One pair ofprotective gloves (dragon hide or similar)  
  
4. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)  
  
All other clothes are the students' prerogative, but it is reminded that altering the uniform's appearance is prohibited, and going barefoot or wearing sandals isn't allowed outside the students' dormitories.  
  
Please note that all pupils' clothes should carry name tags.  
  
SET BOOKS  
  
All students should carry a copy of the following:  
  
+ 'The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)' by Miranda Goshawk  
  
+ 'A history of Magic' by Bathilda Bagshot  
  
+ 'Magical Theory' by Adalbert Waffling  
  
+ 'A Beginners' Guide to Transfiguration' by Emeric Switch  
  
+ 'One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi' by Phyllida Spore  
  
+ 'Magical Drafts and Potions' by Arsenius Jigger  
  
+ 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' by Newt Scamander  
  
+ 'The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection' by Quentin Trimble  
  
+ 'A Young Wizard's Guide to Sexuality' by Samuel/Samantha Gray  
  
Muggleborn students are also recommended to buy 'Quill-Writing Primer for Muggles', by Narusegawa Kuno, and have gone through all its exercises before coming to school.  
  
OTHER INDIVIDUAL EQUIPMENT FOR FIRST YEARS  
  
1 wand  
  
1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)  
  
1 set glass or crystal phials  
  
1 set of basic potion ingredients  
  
1 telescope  
  
1 set brass scales  
  
3 quills (minimum)  
  
3 bottles of standard writing ink (minimum)  
  
1 quill-cutter  
  
15 roles of standard blank parchment (minimum)  
  
1 schoolbag (leather, wool or cotton)  
  
1 wand  
  
Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad  
  
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS  
[ A/N: I would ratter recomend you to actually take a look at the list. It might not show it, but I made a single very important modification, that is, for children who are going to spend most of their puberty with nothing but teachers and each others for company. The repeated "1 wand" comes from the book, so I just copied it as it goes.]  
  
Once the twins had dressed, Cherry picked up the list, Harry pocketed the money Hagrid had given them, and they got out in the hall. Just in time, as Hagrid was coming up the stairs.  
  
"Ah kids, ready to go?"  
  
"Sure." - They answered together.  
  
"Good. Lets go, then." - He turned and began walking down the stairs. In the middle flight they met a pale young man, who was shaking like a leaf just to look at them come down. Hagrid stopped by him.  
  
"Hello, Proffesor Quirrell. How are you today?"  
  
"F- fi- fine, Hagrid." He smiled weakly, and extended a shaky hand toward Hagrid, who shock it softly, like trying not to break a porcelain figure. Once Quirrell had retreived his hand (...along with the rest of his forearm...) from Hagrid's huge right hand, the man turned toward the twins.  
  
"I guess you must be Ha-Ha-Harry and Cherry, aren't you?"  
  
Both Harry and Cherry nodded dubiously. The proffesor pushed his hand towards Harry, who took the shaky hand for just a second before it slipped out of his grasp, towards Cherry. Cherry could hardly touch Quirrell's hand before he had slipped it back into his robes.  
  
"Well, I'm going to be your proffesor of D-D-Defense against the D-D-Dark Arts, not that you need it." - He said, looking appreciatively to their foreheads.  
  
"Well, now I need to go. Have to p-pick a book, on v-vampires." - He shuddered just from mentioning it.- "See you soon." And with a frightened bow he went up the stairs.  
  
Hagrid looked up the stairs and sighed.  
  
"Well, that was Proffesor Quirrell, one of the ones who'll teach you. The poor bloke was fine a few years ago, studying books, but then decided to go on a year long travel around the world to get first hand experience. Apparently he got a run with a few vampires, then had a pretty nasty incident with a hag, and now he's constantly scared, pretty much of everything." - He shook his head in pity. - "Well, lets keep going."  
  
They walked down the rest of the stairs, to the same shaggy pub they had landed in yesterday. Today some light was pouring in from the odd window, but the main source of light remained the candles on the tables. The tables were now ladden with costumers, who were in turn making noise with their conversations. The voice of Johnny, the owner's son, reached them from the bar.  
  
"Hey, Hagrid, ready to take the Potters to buy their equipment?"  
  
The noise died instantly. Not a breath sounded for nearly ten seconds, until Tom's voice came from the shaded tables on the far wall, opposite to the bar.  
  
"For Merlin, you John, do you think I told you in secret, so you could spat it to the four winds!"  
  
Probably he continued rambling, but it was impossible to tell on the uproar that came from all over the pub the next second. Chairs scrapping the floor, people screaming thinks like 'Is it really them!' or 'Look at their foreheads!', and then people coming into sight as they approached them. Soon they were surrounded and pulled away by a crowd of people presenting themselves, welcoming them back, shaking their hands, and from a certain point forward, everybody wanted to hug them; the twins, on the other hand, weren't appreciating the attention at all, and by the time Hagrid noticed it, both of them were beggining to cry from sheer terror. *  
  
[ * A/N: (1)Again with the slave mentality. In such an environment as the one the kids grew up in, they wouldn't have grown up to appreciate appraisal (from anybody except each other) but as a torture method. Now imagine how would they feel if an entire crowd of complete strangers starts to physically appraise them for something they know nothing about: not even 'normal' kids would be far from tears for long. (2) On a different note, on the excitement of things, the crowd was obviously turning pretty rough.]  
  
If Hagrid's reaction was slow, that was compensated by how efective it was. He began shoving people left and right, and once he got close enough to Cherry, who was getting the worst, he rudely pried three adult witches off her neck, and softly holding a sobbing Cherry, began yelling at the multitude.  
  
"YOU should be ashamed of yourselves! Full-Grown-Wizards-TERRORIZING-kids!" - Then he extended his arm towards the point were Harry was... - "And all of you, OPEN UP and let him pass!"  
  
And so, the crowd opened and let the tear-streaked Harry reach Hagrid's waiting arm. By then the room was pretty quiet again, nobody meeting the gigantic man's stare. Tom's angry voice was the one sound that once again broke the silence.  
  
"Move people! If you lot don't seat, I'm closing for the day! And you John, we'll talk in a minute."  
  
People started clearing away to their tables. Hagrid waited until the crowd had thinned a little before gently beggining to push the sobbing twins towards the back door. It lead to a small backyard, barely more than three by three metres, containing nothing but a trashcan and a few weeds growing between the paving stones. Once outside, Hagrid sat on the step leading in (effectively blocking the door), sat the kids on each of his legs, began rocking them, and waited for them to stop cringing to him. A few minutes after they stopped sobbing, he shifted them to the inside of his coat, with only their heads sticking out, so they would be more comfortable.  
  
Once he noticed that they both had fallen asleep, he chuckled, and gently shock them awake. He met their beddy eyes with a smile irradiating warmth.  
  
"Well guys, I wouldn't mind too much letting you sleep, but we have a bussy day ahead of us. Lets move."  
  
They snickered, while they began the task of getting out of Hagrid's coat. Once they were on their feet, Hagrid stuck his hands forward, toward them.  
  
"Now kids help me up, 'cause my legs are now all numb."  
  
They snickered a second, and helped him up. Once up, he spoke.  
  
"Well kids, we are now going to Diagon Alley, and among other things, one of my most treasured memories is the first time I came to the alley." - He looked down for a second, and then resumed looking at their faces, with some concern. - "I mean, there's always a load of people there, and I want to make sure you two are ready for it. And don't worry, what happened at the pub is very rare."  
  
The twins looked at each other with uncertainty, but after a few seconds they both looked up at Hagrid and nodded, smiling shyly. He beamed at them and used his heavy hands to pet their heads with (...what he thought to be...) gentleness, and then took an old pink umbrella from =somewhere= inside his coat, and walked to the far wall, facing a brick sticking out.  
  
"Alright, then just stay close to me. Just in case, you know."  
  
With the tip of the umbrella, he counted two bricks down and three to the right of the one sticking out, and tapped this one three times. Immediately the entire wall came to life and the bricks began to rearange themselves, forming a small gap that grew more and more until it created an archway big enough even for Hagrid, and leading onto a cobbled street which twisted and turned out of sight.  
  
"Welcome, kids! Welcome to Diagon Alley!" - He said, with a voice full of joy.  
  
[A/N: Please turn to the book to see the description of the Alley]  
  
Cherry, waking up from her reverie, pulled out the booklist and spoke up to Hagrid.  
  
"Sorry, Mr. Hagrid..."  
  
"Oh, please don't call me 'Mister'. Just Hagrid."  
  
"Well... Hagrid, what are we going to buy first?" - She said, signaling to the list. They hadn't had any time to think about it, but right now Harry was holding much more money than they had ever touched in their lives, together.  
  
"Buy? Oh, right now nothing. We are first going to go Gringotts, to get you some money from your vault."  
  
"Our vault?" - Harry spat, disbelieving.  
  
"Of course. Even if your house burnt to ashes, the Potter fortune was still safely stored at its bank vault. Or what, did you two thought your parents had left you with nothing?" - He grinned at them.  
  
[A/N: What follows next, up to the moment they step out of Gringotts, is almost exactly what happens on the book; except that now they have two pairs of eyes, and that now they were carring two money pouches.]  
  
After the third crazy car ride, Hagrid had definitely acquired a nasty green colour, so as soon as he stepped out of Gringotts, he sat on the steps and put his head between his knees, and continued his ongoing effort to keep his breakfast down. The kids sat by him and called his attention. He spoke to them between breaths.  
  
"Oh ... don't worry... kids. I'll... be fine... Just need some... fresh air!"  
  
"Can we help you in any way?" - Cherry asked.  
  
"Nah... don't worry... better go there..." - He said, pointing to a store three doors down accross the alley - "... And get your uniforms. I'll... catch up with you in a minute."  
  
"Are you sure, Hagrid?" - Cherry asked again.  
  
"Sure... just go."  
  
So the twins walked toward a store named 'Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions', taking the occasional glimpse behind just to check on Hagrid, who had just taken a shot bottle from his coat and was uncapping it.  
  
They entered the store, and even before they could get a decent look of the inside, they had been spotted by a heavy-built witch. She was barely above their own heights, and was wearing pale-purple robes and a nice smile.  
  
"Hogwarts, dears?" - She barely gave them time to nod before she began pulling them to the back of the store, speaking all the while.  
  
"I get a lot here. In fact, as we speak another young man is being fitted."  
  
In the back of the store there was a boy around their age, with a pale and frankly aerodinamic face, and a blonde head of hair so overdressed that seemed to have been blown dry by a jetfighter. * He was standing on a footstool while a second witch pinned up his long black robes. Madam Malkin made Harry and Cherry stand on two other footstools nearby the blonde boy's, slipped two generic black robes over their heads, and with the help of a third witch who had been resting nearby, began pinning the robes to lenght.  
  
[ * A/N: I don't know what might you think, but that's the impression I got from the movies' Malfoy, and I wanted to reflect it.]  
  
"Hullo," - Said the boy. - "Hogwarts too?"  
  
"Yes." - Harry said, and Cherry nodded in agreement.  
  
"My father is next door buying my books, and mother's up the street looking at cauldrons and telescopes." -He said with a bored voice. - " Then I'll bully my father into buying me a racing broom, and I'll smuggle it in somehow. I don't know why can't first years have their own brooms anyway."  
  
The twins looked at each other. This boy sounded like a slim version of Dudley.  
  
"Have you got your own brooms?" - The boy went on.  
  
The twins shock their heads in negative.  
  
"Do you play quidditch at all?"  
  
The twins shock their heads again, and then looked at each other, wondering what in the world quidditch was.  
  
"Well, I do. My father says it would be a crime if I'm not picked to play for my house, and I must say, I agree. Know in what houses will you two be in?"  
  
The twins shock their heads, beginning to feel frustrated from not knowing anything the boy was talking about.  
  
"Well, no one knows for sure until having been sorted, but I know I'm going to be sorted into Slytherin. All my family has always been. I don't know what would I do if I was sorted into Hufflepuff, but I would likely leave, wouldn't you two?"  
  
Both Harry and Cherry limited they answers to groans. They were frankly frustrated by now.  
  
"Hey, look at that man at the window! - Said the boy suddenly. The twins turned towards the store's front window, were Hagrid, looking a bit healthier now, was tapping the window. As soon as he noticed that he had their attention, he pointed downwards to where he was standing, then showed them his wristwatch, extended his ten fingers, and after receiving an understanding nod from the twins, walked out of sight.  
  
"That's Hagrid." - Said Harry.  
  
"He's the gamekeeper at Hogwarts!" - Finished Cherry. They were both pleased to know something the blonde boy didn't.  
  
"Oh, sure." - Replied the boy. - " I've heard of him. He's a sort of savage that lives in a hut in the school grounds, and every now and then he gets drunk, tries to do magic, and ends up setting his bed on fire." - He finished with a smirk.  
  
"I think he's brilliant." - Replied both twins in unison. The longer they stayed with this guy, the less they liked him.  
  
"Do you?" - He asked, with an undertone of disdain. - "Why is he with you? Where are your parents? Or is he you father?"  
  
"Our parents are dead." - Cherry said, trying to add finality to her words. She didn't want to elaborate with this boy, and she didn't think her brother would either.  
  
"Oh, sorry" - Said the boy offhandedly, not sounding sorry at all. - "But they were our kind, weren't they?"  
  
"They were wizards, if that what you are refering to." -Answered Cherry back. Both her and her bother were beginning to feel the necesity to jump on this smug boy and hit in his beautiful face inwards...  
  
"I really don't think they should let the other kind in, do..."  
  
"You are all ready, Mr. Malfoy. Could you please follow me to the cashier?"  
  
The young witch who had been fixing his robes was the one who saved the day. With a very strained smile she guided him to the front of the store, and a minute later the same witch returned to the back of the shop with a smile.  
  
"All clear!"  
  
The two other witches sighed loudly. Harry and Cherry and noticed so far, but they had stopped working as soon as the boy Malfoy had left his stool.  
  
"Madam Malkin, wouldn't it be better if somewhere out there we wrote 'No service to Slytherins'?"  
  
The lady at Harry's feet snickered, and answered, while resuming her work.  
  
"I wish we could, Claudia, but the moment we do we will loose more than a quarter of our profit. Now go to the front to wait for customers, and Brenda, concentrate!" - She finished, turning to the one who still hadn't resumed working at Cherry's robe. Brenda blushed and went down to work, while Claudia went up to the front of the store with a grin on her face. A few minutes later, Madam Malkin was doing the same with them, guiding them to the front of the store, carrying their two neatly measured robes to the front of the store. Once on the front she placed them on top of two piles of two robes each, and did some muttering and wand waving on top of them. When she turned and saw the faces of confusion on the Potters, she smiled sweetly at them, and explained to them.  
  
"Well kids, that one was a charm that copied the adjustments on the first robe to the other two, so we don't need to adjust the three of them separately. And now tell me, what names should I put on the nametags?"  
  
"Well, I am Harry Potter, and my sister here is Cherry Potter." - He said, matter of fact.  
  
The witch lost her smile in awe, but soon recovered it in joy.  
  
"Claudia, Brenda, come here, quick!" - She said exitedly. Three seconds later, when the ladies arrived... - "Come on girls, meet Harry and Cherry Potter!"  
  
Harry and Cherry felt a little affraid after what had happened on the leaky Cauldron, but at least this three witches seemed to be happy with just giving them a quick hug, grinning like crazy, and dancing around them. After a few minutes of this, Madam Malkin had regained enough self control to pull back to earth her two crazy assistants.  
  
"Well girls, please get serious for a second and help me. Brenda, go and fetch six more robes, two pointy hats, two pairs of our best dragon hide gloves, and two of the special winter cloaks. Then prepare to close. Claudia, help me with the 'EverFit' charm while I do the 'NeverRipp' one."  
  
So Brenda went to fetch the other stuff, while Claudia and Madam Malkin began charming the piles of robes, one by one. It seemed to be a hard think to do, as they where puffing by the time they had gone around the two piles, and were so tired once they had gone through the two piles Brenda had just brought forward, that they were having trouble staying on their feet. Brenda helped Claudia to a nearby chair, and helped Madam Malkin to stay standing up.  
  
"Well, Harry, Cherry, please take these on the house, and return whenever you want for more. And don't look so surprised: I lost a sister and a brother-in-law to You-Know-Who, and my nieces here..." - She nodded towards Brenda. - "... they lost their parents. Even if you don't remember as you were so young, you still avenged them; and we and many others are in an eternal debt to you two."  
  
Harry and Cherry looked at each other. They had been looking for excuses not to accept the presents, but how do you refuse to such words? They bowed a 'thanks', took the clothes from the counter, and slowly marched out of the store. Outside they saw Hagrid, standing in front of the window and looking at them.  
  
"I guess this is one of those days of discovery, isn't it?"  
  
The twins chuckled bitterly. Such words didn't begin to define it.  
  
"Well, do you two feel up to an ice cream?"  
  
They two looked at each other for a second, with a look of disgust. They just didn't feel up to an ice-cream, or anything edible, yet. They looked up to Hagrid, while shaking their heads.  
  
"Well, before I forget again, lets go buy you a couple of decent trunks." So they went to a shop down the street, and bought two identical trunks, that apart from being charmed to have much bigger internal than external dimensions (about an extra feet to each side, an extra feet and a half to each extreme, and at least an extra feet to the bottom), also happened to produce wheels when they were tilted. Hagrid also explained to them about the charms the witches had put on the robes. He explained that the NeverRipp charm made clothes extremely durable by making them almost impervious to damage and wear, and then began to explain them the EverFit one.  
  
"Well, the EverFit Charm makes clothes always fit the wearer... well, it's easy to show you." - And he demostrated by throwing one of the robes on top of his head, and showing them that even with his nine or more feet of height (and perhaps of circunference, adding that he hadn't removed his coat), the robe still fitted him like a glove. Then, he threw it on Harry, who was amazed as it fitted him again seeminglessly. Then he threw another one on Cherry, explaining them that it might be a good idea if they began getting used to wear wizard robes.  
  
The explanation on the cloaks was simple. They didn't only have an EverFit charm, but also had one that kept the cloak warm despite the external conditions.  
  
But then, while finally unbandaging his right hand, Harry remembered what this Malfoy boy had been talking to them.  
  
"Hagrid, what is Quidditch?" - Harry asked, when they stopped to buy parchment and quills.  
  
[ A/N: Lets jump ahead to Ollivanders, as I am not making significant modifications to the next page and a half. And no, they only got Hedwig. By the way, I'm also jumping the description of Ollivanders'.]  
  
"Good afternoon" - Said a soft voice. Harry and Cherry jumped, and Hagrid must have too, because there was a loud crunching noise, and he was now trying to stand up from the remains of a chair.  
  
An old man was standing before them, his wide, pale eyes shininig like moons through the gloom of the shop.  
  
"Hello." - Muttered both Harry and Cherry, awkwardly.  
  
"Oh yes, I thought I would be seeing you two soon, Mr. and Ms. Potter." - That wasn't a question. - "You two have your mother's eyes. I can still remember her, the day she came to buy her first wand. Willow, ten and a quarter inches long, swishy. Nice wand for charm work." - Mr. Ollivander had closed the gap and was now standing close and at the height of the twins, and was looking at each of them alternatively, with those wide, grey, and creepy eyes. - "Your father, on the other hand, favoured instead a mahogany wand. Eleven inches, pliable, a little more power and excellent for transfiguration. Well, I say your father favoured it; of course, it is the wand who favours the wizard..."  
  
He shot his head upwards, and to the twins relief, he spotted Hagrid.  
  
"Rubeus! Rubeus Hagrid! How nice to see you again... Oak, sixteen inches, rather bendy, wasn't it?"  
  
"It was, sir, yes."  
  
"Good wand, that one. But I suppose they snapped it in half when you got expelled?" - Ollivander had suddenly acquired a stern tone.  
  
"Uh... yes, sir." - Hagrid said, looking down. - "But I still have have the pieces, though." - He added brightly.  
  
"But you don't use them, do you?" - Said Ollivander sharply.  
  
"Oh, of cou... of course not, sir." Answered Hagrid, nerviously crutching the point on his coat where the twins knew he kept his pink umbrella.  
  
"Hmmm..." - Said Ollivander, giving Hagrid a piercing look. Then he turned back to the twins. - "Well, Mr and Ms. Potter, which are your wand-arms?"  
  
"Wand-arms?" - They both repeated.  
  
"Alright, with which hands do you write?"  
  
"Well, I am left handed." - Began Cherry.  
  
"And I am right handed." - Finished Harry.  
  
"Hold them out, palm upwards. That's it." Then he pulled out of his pocket a couple of long tape measures with silver markings, deposited them on their outstretched forearms, and stepped back, watching intendly. The tape measures sprung to life and began worming around them, taking any imaginable measure of their outstretched arms, and then procedded to their bodies and heads. Mr Ollivander kept muttering to himself even after the tape measures had gone limp on their shoulders.  
  
"Curious." - He finally spoke up. - "Might the two of you stand back-to- back, Mr. and Ms. Potter?"  
  
The two of them complied, feeling more than slightly confused. The tape measures sprung back to life, but just for a few seconds, after which Mr Ollivander spoke again.  
  
"Quite peculiar indeed." - ... - "If I didn't know better, I would think that the two of you are identical twins, but of course that's impossible. You are a boy and a girl, so you two can't be anything more than fraternal twins, but even so..." - He left his words lingering on the air, while he went to the backstore, and after a while came back holding a silvery bone the size of a cane. - "Alright kids, I want each of you standing toward the other, holding an extreme of this unicorn legbone." - ... - "Good, now just hold it for a second." - He pulled out a wand from his robes, and tapped it. The bone shone white for a few seconds, but the glow died down without more consecuence. Mr. Ollivander began shaking his head, and began his explanation, while beggining to pull down boxes from here and there.  
  
"See this that happened? In all the years I have been making wands I had never seen it, and I am pretty sure that even if I go through the records of my ancestors I won't ever find it quoted: two non-identical-twins needing twin wands! Even for identical twins that's quite rare..." - Now he opened two different boxes from around the store, and handed the twins the wands inside. - "Okay, please test this two: Beachwood, nine inches, dragon heartstrings. Flexible, and good for general work." - Upon seeing their confused expressions, he put some more of an explanation. - "Don't be shy, just give them a wave!"  
  
The kids, feeling quite stupid, waved them around. Ollivander quickly snatched them from their hands, and while muttering something he went back to looking for other wands. After less than a minute he was back, holding two more wands. - "Willow and unicorn hairs, eight and a half inches, springy. Go on, try them out."  
  
And so, the parade of pairs of wands continued, and each time Ollivander seemed to be taking more and more time to find another pair of wands to try, but even after more than two hours, be now taking around five minutes to find each new pair, and having made a mess of his store, he still seemed to be very enthusiastic. And so far the closer they had come to any reaction was when four tries back (maple and phoenix feathers, seven inches, whippy), they had blown all the contents out of a nearby shelf. Now Ollivander was back again, holding two more wands.  
  
"Well, let's try this two ones. They have been sitting on the shelves for almost seventy years now. Eleven and a half inches, ebony and phoenix feathers, thick and rigid."  
  
The moment the kids touched the wands, their hands felt warm, and as soon as they waved them (shyly, as they didn't want to repeat the last incident), a shower of red and golden sparks shot out of both wands. Hagrid whooped and clapped and Mr Ollivander cried a 'bravo', before becoming solemn.  
  
"Mr Ollivander, what is the matter?" - Asked Cherry, who had happened to look in his direction after giving a high-five to Harry.  
  
"It is a very curious matter, Ms. Potter. The definition of 'sister wands' is 'two or more wands who had been made with a magic substance coming from the exact same beast'. I remember every single wand I have ever sold, and in the case of your wands, that phoenix only gave three feathers, and the remaining one, the sister wand of yours, was exactly the one who gave you those scars on your foreheads."  
  
The kids swallowed.  
  
"That one was thirteen and a half inches and was from wood from a different ebony tree, but it is still the sister wand of yours'. Very powerful, and in the wrong hands..." - The old man shock his head in reproval. - "I think we must be expecting great things from the two of you, Mr. and Ms. Potter. After all, The-One-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things. Terrible, sure, but great!"  
  
The kids shuffled on their seats, as Mr Ollivander seemed to be creepier now more than ever. They received the two wands on a single, purple box, payed seven gold Galleons for each wand, and Mr. Ollivander vowed them out from his shop.  
  
The late afternoon sun now hung low in the horizon, as Hagrid, Harry and Cherry happily walked back to the Leaky Cauldron. As soon as they had left Ollivander's, their stomachs reminded Harry and Cherry that they hadn't eaten all day, so Hagrid steered them into the closest ice cream shop, and after more than an hour of engorging on every imaginable flavour of ice cream, Hagrid 'accidentally' dropped their names to the waitress, so they didn't only got out without paying, but also with some cookies for the way.  
  
Hagrid went before them into the Leaky Cauldron, and after telling them that things were clear, pulled them inside. They quietly went all the way into their room, and threw themselves into their beds, after such a day. Hagrid asked them not to fall asleep yet, telling them that they still had to their medicine, and that he would be back in a second.  
  
The twins had hardly pulled their 'pajamas' out of the suitcase when Hagrid and Tom walked in, singing "Happy Birthday", and carrying a small cake with two candles.  
  
They twins had no wishes whatsoever. This day might have been the best of their lives.  
  
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-  
  
Well, I hope I still have some following after such a long pause, but unfortunately I must tell you that next pause will likely be even longer, as I don't expect to be in much contact with a computer for the next couple of aeons.  
  
Please, have me some patience.  
  
ElfQt: Thanks. I will.  
  
Moonlight: I'm a very slow writer (and that's without counting I just came out of a week long stay in the hospital, and can hardly stare at the screen without getting dizzy). I hope this chapter answers to a few of your questions. But otherwise, I'll try to stick to the normal timeline the most possible. Thanks.  
  
Amber Potter: a few of your questions won't be answered for a long time (read the answer to Moonlight), but they will be, eventually. Thanks.  
  
Nabiki: I will continue. Thanks.  
  
Amileerose: Now it is updated. And Thanks.  
  
Dathrian Princess: Thanks. I'll mail you as soon as possible. 


	6. Chapter 5: The Journey from Platform 9 3...

Alright, so I am not a regular writer, even if I try. Due to many things in real life, I can hardly churn out a few lines a month. Do not despair, that this story will eventually be finished, even if takes me a couple of decades.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

****

The journey from Platform 9 3/4

No single word would describe the summer Harry and Cherry experienced after being "kidnapped" from their family, but a large list of qualifiers could come to mind. Wonderful, magic, colourful, awesome, relaxing, but overall happiest-ever, as for the first time as far as they could recall, they could run, laugh, play, be noisy, and in general act as normal kids their age, without being prosecuted because of it.

During their first week they were mostly imprisoned in their room in this inn, thanks to Mrs. Pomfrey, who wanted them not to move till they had grown whatever they hadn't with their family.

Took them till the end of the holidays to actually notice it being literal, as they had grown two inches in a month. After all, Dudley's troussers didn't just pin themselves even higher on their own.

Talking about clothing, now they only had a handful of the clothing they had with the Dursleys, and that they used just to keep the potion jars from clattering. They now had their trunks full of assorted wizard clothes, plus a handful of new muggle clothes (mostly because Harry felt weird wearing "dresses", as most robes looked like to him).

Over the summer, aside from going through their books and all the exercises of "Quill-writing primer", they got the opportunity to explore this Alley behind the pub.

The sights, the smells, the tastes, the escence of the world of their parents were now theirs; nevertheless, they had less than a month in it, and only had a glimpse at a small corner of it.

Gone July, in the morning of August the First, Tom woke them up early. They had already packed, and were ready for school. Terrified stiff, but ready to go together.

Not too much conversation went between in that fateful morning. They knew what they had to do, so they did it in silence, and Tom knew how tense they were, so he respected their silence. After breakfast, they picked their trunks and Hedwig's cage and exited by the pubs' muggle entrance. They took a taxi to King Cross Station, and not until they were between platforms 9 and 10 that Tom finally pressed the need to talk.

"Er, would you happen to have your letter, children? I'm not quite sure how to get to the platform . . ."

"Well, sure" said Harry, unpocketing his letter and giving it to Tom. Then looked up startled, as they saw Tom waving on at the crowds coming into the Station. Soon they saw a plump redheaded woman return the wave, and approach followed by a column of equally redhead children, most of which also had trunks of their own. The woman approached Tom and shocked his hand warmly.

"Hello there, Tom. I hadn't seen you for some time." Noticing the twins with him, she waved at them. "Well, hello. Are you Johnny's children? I thought you were still too young to come!"

"In fact my grandchildren are still too young, being 5." Tom interjected over the lady's shoulder. Moving over the children, he continued. "These are James and Judith Evans, 11. Kids, this is Molly Weasley."

Outside of the Leaky Cauldron, they had gone by their second names, and their mother's maiden one, for the entire month. Better safe than sorry, after all . . .

"How nice meeting you, James a Judith." Said the lady, as she shocked their hands. Then she stepped back, and presented her children, who had been looking at the scene. "And these are my children who are still at Hogwarts, Percival, 15 . . ."

The oldest of them nodded his head at them.

" . . . The twins George and . . ."

"Mom, how do you mix us! I'm Fred, not George!" Said one. They both looked just a couple of years older than the Potters did.

"Honestly, you call yourself our mother!" Said the other.

"Oh, sorry Fred."

"Just kidding, I'm George!"

Both Weasleys chuckled. Mrs. Weasley glared daggers at them, but said nothing of it.

"And these are my youngest, Ronald, 11, and Virginia, 10."

The two waved at them, the girl shyly.

"Er . . . Molly, might you please help me here? I don't trully remember the way to get to the platform." Said Tom, scratching the bald point on his head.

Molly giggled at that. "Don't worry Tom, I'll get them into the train. You can go and give Johnny his leave; I've heard you got him working night shift."

"No, he actually voluntereed, so he can do homework during his shift. He's studying on weekends all day, you know? Anyway, thank you very much."

Turning to the kids, and giving each a great hug, told them "It was great for me to care for you for this month, kids. Come and visit again."

"Of course we will visit, Mr. Tom." Said Cherry.

"Thanks for everything." Said Harry.

And with a final smile, Tom popped a Chocolate Cherry in his mouth, and disappeared with a light pop. Mrs. Weasley turned to the kids.

"And I guess you don't know how to get to the platform, do you?" As they shocked their heads, she continued. "Well, no problem there. We'll show you. Percy?"

"Quite simple, Mr. And Ms. Evans. Just walk into the wall behind you, and you'll be at the platform. Like this." And just as he said, he calmly drove his trolley into the wall, and walked calmly through the wall, as if it was some everyday stuff.

Seeing their disbelieving faces, the Weasley twins followed with their trolleys. The one in front stopped in front of them, said "If you have your doubts, try doing it on a run," and ran though the wall. The other stopped and said, "Just be confident that you'll go throught, or will turn solid," and followed his brothers.

"Well, now try yourselves, dears. You won't have a problem." Encouraged Mrs. Weasley.

Pulling their whelled trunks, and Harry carrying Hedwig's cage, they approached the wall. Standing a step from it, they silently agreed, closed their eyes, and stepped ahead. Feeling nothing, they opened their eyes, and saw themselves in a new platform, with a red steam engine in front of them.

"Hey James, Judith! Better move away from the gate, or Ron might run you over!" It was one of the twins from before, standing a few steps away. They moved from the stone arch they were standing at, and indeed a second later Ron appeared at the archway, closely followed by his mother and sister. Once these last three were at the platform, Mrs. Weasley began hugging her children and giving them her good byes for the year. Harry and Cherry moved away after beggining to look at this, a bit of a natural response for them whenever they saw something they longed for. They quickly found an empty compartment in the third carriage, and puffed a bit to pull in their trunks. After that, they left a sleeping Hedwig on a seat by the door, and sat on opposite sides of the window, looking outside.

After a few minutes, the steam's whizzle blew, and they were on their way to school. Almost immediately after the train began moving, the Weasley boy who was their age came knocking at their door.

"May I come in? Everything else seems to be full." He said, sliding the door slightly open.

"Sure thing." Said Harry.

"Your name was Ronald, wasn't it?" Interjected Cherry.

"Just Ron." The boy said, while he sat by Cherry. "Just plain Ron, the second youngest of the long Weasley line. Do you have older siblings?"

"No, or at least non that we ever knew about." Said Cherry, without energy.

"We only got our uncles." Finished Harry.

"So . . . you're orphans?" Ron quickly covered his mouth. "Oh, sorry for bringing it! I'm soo sorry!"

"Don't be." Said Cherry, patting his shoulder. "Ten years is a long time to adapt."

"Yeah, well . . ." vocalized Harry.

Not much more noise happened for what seemed an eternity, as any attemps at iddle talk froze in the unnatural atmosphere. Until Ron suggested getting on the school uniform, when he saw a side glimpse at Harry's forehead while he pulled of his sweater.

"Whoa, what's that on your forehead? I hope it isn't dirt; otherwise, my mom might catch up with the train just to rub it off. You might have seen, she almost rubbed my nose off, right in front of the carriage!"

They sniggered a bit, having seen the scene.

"No, it's just a scar." Harry lifted his firinge, to show Ron.

Ron's eyes went out off its sockets. He jumped off his seat and began screaming.

"WHOA, YOU TWO ARE HARRY AND CHERRY POTT . . ."

Both Harry and Cherry jumped to cover his mouth.

"Well, Yes we are; but please keep it quiet!" Began Cherry.

"We don't need the entire school to mob us, you know!" Followed Harry.

They pulled him to the seat, and told him of what happened on their first day at the Cauldron. After that it had logic the explanation of why going by their least known names.

Not sooner had they finished with it, and Ron had began talking about his own family, the door slid open. It was the blond boy they saw in their first day at the Cauldron. His hair was so overdressed as the last time, seemingly pulling his face into an eternal sneer.

"Hey, I heard that somewhere in this carriage were Harry and Cherry Potter. I've looked over the carriage, and you are the only ones who follow their description. You are, am I wrong?"

"And who asks anyway! Doors are to be knocked, you know!" Cut Ron. The boy's face filled with disdain instantly after his eyes fell on Ron.

"Not as if I needed asking the same question! Run-down clothes and a head on fire, you are a Weasley. Even if I heard one of you flucked out and made it into Slytherin, I know you are nothing but muggle-lovers and bummers!"

Ron went red at that.

"Not as if I actually needed asking, either! Chicken-blond hair, a permanent sneer, and a face so pointy as if you had been sniffed by a dragon; you have to be a Malfoy! I've heard your clan only has a child a generation because you all are so dis . . ."

At that point things were hot enough to fry an egg at, and Harry jumped in to hold Ron back. Cherry jumped at Malfoy before he had a swing either.

"Hold it, Ron, we haven't even made it yet to school! No one needs a fight this early!"

"And what's your bussiness here to come in here and insult our new friend?" Cherry shouted at the Malfoy boy's face.

He answered with finesse. "Precisely that, Ms. Potter." He took her hand from his shoulder. "I wanted to come present myself, to help you and your brother become somebody in the world. There are families of wizards whom you should avoid becoming friendly with . . ." With his nose he pointed at Ron, who was now relatively calm, listening with Harry " . . . And I would trully be glad to help both of you on that field." To prove his point, he tried kissing Cherry's hand.

Noticing his intentions, Cherry quickly retrieved her hand from his, and stepped closer to his brother.

"No thanks! I think I can see the wrong kind myself, and my brother will, too. Now move along!"

"And what if I don't want too? And what if I want this owl here?" He said defiantly, while moving in to pick up Hedwig's cage. Both Potters jumped on him before he even touched it, and shoved him out of the compartment before he could even react. After screaming "And stay out!" at his prone figure, they shot the door closed. Turning back to Ron, they sat back.

"Well, what were you saying before the git came in?" Said Harry, as if he had just swatted a mosquito.

"Rrrrrright! I guess I might talk about . . . the houses, yes! Of the four houses, for centuries my family has gone into Griffindor, with only exceptions of my great- great- grandpa, who went into Hufflepuff, and my brother Percy . . . who did Slytherin. It's said that brave ones go into Griff, brainy ones into Ravenclaw, patient and loyal ones into Huff, and ambitious ones into Slyth; however, the only thing I know for sure is that when Percy became a Slytherin, my mom and dad mostly acted like he had died. It took them months before they would mention his name, and it was on that time when the twins trully became pranksters, in their effort to make them cheer up. I wouldn't want to go into Slyth, not for all the gold in the world . . ."

Ron quieted down, looking at the floor. Harry and Cherry looked at each other in the eye. Would that be so awful if they actually made it into Slytherin? They had already done some research on the houses, and eventually came to the conclusion that non would be too bad as far as they were together.

The silence stood until a boy and a girl, also in their school uniforms, came to knock at their door. The girl had dark bushy hair and a somehow bossy attitude, and the boy carried a knobby wooden cane and was sobbing softly.

"Hello. Neville here says he just lost his ooze, and being this the compartment next door, it might have crept into here."

"I went into the bathroom down the hall and left Trevor sleeping on my staff . . . " He waved his cane at this. " . . . And when I returned, he had dissappeared from the place. He might have woken up, and not seeing me around, would have gone to look for me! He must be terrified!"

Ron stood up and patted the other boy on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, pal. As far as I know about oozes, they are extremely loyal, so the little slimeball . . ."

"DON'T call him a Slimeball!" For a second, Neville's voice became vibrant and his eyes fierce, but it faltered almost instantly.

" . . . So your Ooze should come around any second now. " Ron corrected, conciliatorily. "Better go back to your compartment, so he can locate you."

"Would that be right with you, Neville?" The bushy-haired girl said to the boy. He nodded, and let himself be pulled out. Before leaving, the girl looked back at Ron, with a nice smile.

"Thanks."

After the girl ushered the boy out, and slid the door closed, Ron did a double take at the door.

"Was that boy carring a staff?" He said at the twins with him.

"I think so." Said Cherry, unsure. She looked at her brother, who just shrugged.

"What's with the staff, anyway?" asked Harry, at Ron.

"That means he's not a wizard, but a mage! Mages are really rare, and really powerful! I've heard that most mages go into Hufflepuff, but I trully hope he makes it into Griffindor: just to imagine what he'll do for us in Quiddich . . ." He dissolved into dreamy visions.

"And what's an Ooze, Ron? A kind of pet?" Harry pulled him back to earth.

"Uh? Oh, no, or at least by what my dad has told me about oozes, is more a companion than a pet. They don't have a set shape or colour, but are extremely resistant to magic. And of magic they can do, they can ooze through any kind of barrier or ward, and can squirt any number of powerful potions right out of their bodies." He paused to scratch his head, thinking. "And now that I think about it, his ooze would also be an ascet to Gryffindor!"

Ron submerged himself into dreamy visions, and stayed at this for quite a while. The twins, after noticing he had zoned-out again, just enjoyed the scenery out their window for what seemed like hours.

An interruption came as the food trolley made its appearance, at around three o'clock. [Mostly the same scene as with the book, except that the kids did know of the moving pictures.] After they had enough fun with the Berty Bob's beans, they began chatting anew. Long hours passed as Harry and Cherry described Ron plenty of thinks they had become accustomed to in the muggle world, but which Ron would have little or no experience with.

Sortly after dusk, the bushy-haired girl from before knocked at their door. Not waiting for an aswer, she slid the door and stood at the doorway.

"Hi, there. I have just spoken with the driver, and he said he expects us to arrive anytime soon. I would advice you to get on your robes."

"Alright, thanks there." Answered back Cherry, with a smile.

"No problem." Said the girl, returning the smile. "I hope I can get to know you, guys."

And with that, the girl closed the door. The guys at the compartment indeed made good deed of her advice and put their robes over their clothes, and soon enough felt the train begin to slow-down. Just before it entered a small town, a voice was heard all over the train.

"We will be arriving at Hogsmeade station in a couple of minutes. Please leave your belongings at the train, as their are to be transported separately."

The three kids moved into the hallway, were plenty more had already gathered to get off the train.

[What follows is mostly the same as the book, up to when they disembark.]

"Hey, you there, is this your ooze?" Said Hagrid, as he pulled out of his pocket what looked like dark bluish, gigantic snot.

"Trevor!" Screamed the boy, overjoyed. The snot turned canary yellow, and jumped of Hagrid's hand onto Neville's waiting arms. It then bounced off his hands, plastered itself onto his chest, and after a second seemed to disolve into the fabric. The overjoyed boy kept holding his chest for a while.

"Well, this way, new students."

He kept his lantern up high, while guiding the children through a stone stairway, which ended just by the castle's entrance. He led them up the stairs to the entrance itself, and with his fist, knocked the huge oak doors three times.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

As you might imagine at this stage, I have planned to modify the character "Neville Longbottom". I always thought him to be an under-used powerhouse (which is partially proven in book 5, and I'm sure will be outright proven in book 6), so I want to explore that special aspect much sooner than the books.

Feedback will be greatly appreciated.

Bye there. See you in at least a month from now.


	7. Chapter 6: the Sorting Hat

Will somebody kill me? I've spent more than a year trying to write a novel, and I'm still on page two! Of course, I have already written around thirty pages worth of outline, but I have already written about the same number of pages of outline for the differences and convergences of "Harry Potter" and "Harry and Cherry Potter".

Anyway, I'm uploading this up, so I can get something done. And my promise to finish this still stands, even if takes me forever.

_By the way, **italized** text is author's notes_.

**The Sorting Hat**

The doors swung wide open at once. A rather tall, black-haired witch in emerald green robes stood there. She had a very stern face and the general aura of somebody who doesn't smile very often: the aura of a disciplinarian.

"The first years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here." Turning to the children, she said "Follow me, please."

She led them through a hall so big you could have easily built an average townhouse in it. There were magnificent stone walls and marble floors, which looked even more impressive thanks to the torches sparsely placed around. Across the hall were some impressive-looking doors, sculpted with the school's Coat of Arms, and at both ends were arches and stairwells leading elsewhere. From these great doors the drone of hundreds of voices could be heard, but Professor McGonagall led the instead to a chamber behind one of the arches. They crowded in behind her, maybe frightened, exited, or curious, but all of them nervous.

The professor turned at them and spoke up.

_What leads is the same as the book, up to when the Hat's Song begins. Exception made of the fact that our heroes don't know Granger's name so far._

Oh, you might not think I'm pretty

But don't judge on what you see,

I'll eat myself if you can find

A wiser hat than me

You can keep you doubts at bay,

Along with your fears and dreads

And even if your sorting doesn't seem merry,

Your final joy will come from it.

There's … _And so fort, till the end of the descriptions._

If my judging might seem mysterious,

Don't take it wrong, do take it serious,

That after a thousand years at work,

I have yet to be proven wrong.

The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four House Tables and went back to rest.

"So we just have to try on a bloody hat!" Ron whispered to the twins. "I'll kill my brother Fred; he was going on about wrestling a troll."

The twins sighed, as quite a few others did. Trying on a hat seemed easy enough.

Professor McGonagall had now stepped behind the hat's stool.

"When the hat calls your name, you will put it on and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Let's begin."

"Abbott, Hannah," the hat shouted, and a pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of the line of first years…

_And so forth, exactly like the book._

"Bulstrode, Millicent" then became a Slytherin. It might have been a bit of biased thinking from the twins, but hearing catcalls like "The first one that matters" didn't help their first impression of their might-be housemates. It didn't help either to see that the girl seemed like an archetypical bully, and was being welcomed by what looked like other hardened gorillas.

And as more children went on to be sorted, a though occurred on Cherry's mind. And what if the hat decided to place them on two different houses? She pressed hard on Harry's hand, and by just looking at her eyes he could understand her fear. He stepped closer to her and pressed her hand back. They kept their eyes locked for a long time, and when they depleted the resource of unspoken communication, they turned back to the sorting.

'Granger, Hermione' was called. The bushy girl from the train went up to the stool and eagerly jammed the hat on her head. The Hat promptly shouted "Gryffindor", and the girl nearly ran to her new house.

"Isn't that the girl we saw on the train?" Ron asked the twins over his shoulder. "I hope you two also go in Gryffindor; that way we would already have our little gang set up."

'Ixidor, Aristotle' became a Hufflepuff.

"Longbottom, Neville and Rudolph" The Hat shouted. Harry and Cherry looked excited at each other, both thinking "It sorts twins together!" The moment was short-lived, though, as they saw the ooze's owner was walking alone toward the stool. The Hat took its time for his Sorting, during which the hall filled with murmurs. The hat shot down the noise when it shouted "Gryffindor" much louder than it had been doing so far. The boy got a discreet clapping, until somebody shouted "Hey, he's got a staff! We have a Mage!"

It took a few minutes for silence to return to the hall, and for somebody to notice that 'MacDougal, Morag' was now being called.

Malfoy got his wish at once. The hat had hardly touched his head and it screamed "Slytherin." The boy smoothly came to his house, were he was greeted by his cronies.

"Moon, Terry" was made a Ravenclaw.

'Nott, Theodore' was made a Slytherin.

'Parkinson, Pansy' was made a Slytherin.

'Patil, Padma and Parvati' were called. People tensed up because of what had happened with Neville and Rudolph, so plenty of sighs were heard as two black-haired girls approached the stool. Much fewer whispers were heard when Professor McGonagall helped them sit back to back on the narrow stool, but then these were livelier than lat time.

The hat didn't take long to pronounce them "Both: Gryffindor", and as they happily joined their new house, Harry and Cherry held hands full of hope.

'Perks, Sally-Anne' became a Hufflepuff, and finally…

"Potter, Cherry and Harry"

Excited whispers broke out everywhere as they moved on the stool, their feelings torn between hope and dread. Professor McGonagall helped them on, and set the hat between their heads.

As the hat fell on their heads, it was like a veil also fell on them blurring their eyes, muting all sound, and calming down their racing hearts.

"My, my, don't you worry. If you want not to be placed apart, you will not be. I will sort you in the same house."

They would have sighed, had their minds not been clouded-over at the moment.

"The deepest loyalty toward each other lives in you, and you two are just as loyal with your friends. Moreover, you wouldn't be afraid to give up everything if you saw a good cause. On the other hand, you also yearn to learn everything, and to prove your worth to anyone who might have doubted it. This last aspect seems to occupy an important part of your hearts, and Slytherin would truly help you there…"

The hat made a pause.

"However, you two don't seem to have the ruthlessness most members of Slytherin feel proud of. Moreover, I don't think your destinies are directly linked with that house. Being so, I think I've reached a conclusion."

"Gryffindor" the hat shouted, and they woke up from their trance. Shakily they moved to the table with the red tablecloths, which was cheering just as loudly as it had done with the mage boy. Many people greeted them as they sat on the table, opposite from the ghost on the ruff they had seen earlier. The cheering went on for a while before order was regained and the Sorting could continue.

Being now placed and calm enough to care, they took a good view of the High table, in front of which the Hat had been placed. At the end nearest them sat Hagrid, who they waved at as he gave them the thumbs up. And there, at the center of the table, sat Albus Dumbledore in a large golden chair.

The kids recognized him at once from the Chocolate Frog card Harry got of him on the train. Anyway, he was hard to miss with his waist long silver beard, and gentle smile.

A few more people were sorted, and finally it was Ron's turn. The hat declared him a Gryffindor almost at once, and he sat by Harry. The Weasley twins were still cheering on Ron when 'Zabini, Blaise' was made a Ravenclaw, and with no more students to sort, professor McGonagall took away the Hat and its stool.

Albus Dumbledore got to his feet, just as Ron's stomach had made a loud noise. The Headmaster was beaming at the students, his arms opened wide …

_… _

"That does look good," said the ghost in the ruff in a sad tone, watching Harry cut up his steak.

"Can't you…?" Harry began.

"I have been dead for nearly five hundred years, but I don't think I have eaten a full dozen times in all that time. I have no need for food, but one does miss having a sense of taste.

"By the way, I don't think I have properly introduced myself. I am Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington at your service, and I am the resident ghost of Gryffindor Tower."

"I know who you are!" Ron said, after gulping down a mouthful of food. "My brothers have told me loads about you: You are Nearly Headless Nick!"

_… _

"What about you, Neville?" Ron said.

"Well, my grandma brought me up and she's a witch," said Neville. "But my family thought I was all muggle for ages. Matter of fact, no proof of me being magical at all could ever be seen till last year. We were going out and Grandma sent me to get her wand from her room. I held the wand for less than a minute, on the way back to my grandma, and the wand blew up in my hand, ripping off my fingers. Then, pink slime began oozing out of the stumps, and in less than another minute I had grown new fingers. I was scared, but my grand was so happy she was crying. A few weeks later, when my ooze hatched, my grand put me through some tests that said I'm both a Mage and an Ooze Master. And then I'm here."

"Well, that was a spectacular awakening." The girl with the bushy hair said, whose name was Hermione. "Mine was quieter. I was studying for my midterm tests and was buried in a sea of books, and it took my dad for me to notice that two of the books were in mid air. My dad didn't mind it, but advised me better to avoid making such things in public. Then two years later I get a letter from the Ministry of Magic because of me managing to curse a typewriter to take oral dictation, and a year later I'm here."

"But how didn't your parents tell you before? You must have been up to your chins in magic by age three!" Ron sputtered.

"How could I be? Neither of my parents is magical."

"Huh…" Ron began. "Anyway… What about you and your sister, Parvati?" Ron said to a girl next to Hermione, across the table.

It was the girl by her who answered.

"Actually, I am Parvati, Ron, and she's Padma."

There were general chuckles, as Ron blushed.

"Anyway…" Padma began. "Our family came from India some eight years ago and opened a cargo and heavy-lift carpet business."

"And about ourselves…" Parvati continued. "I think we have been making minor potions since we could walk, but they would only do anything if we had both helped at making them. I guess that as toddlers neither of us alone had enough power."

She shrugged.

On Cherry's other side, this boy Seamus Finnigan was making conversation with this nice girl named Ezri Teheran, Prefect for Gryffindor House.

"But wasn't it much more difficult for us Ring-bearers to do stuff? I mean, I've got my two silver rings for a month, and I have never been able to make them do a thing."

"Don't worry. It took me a lot of work to get the simplest charms to work, but from the day I could get a hanging at how to channel the energy through my own fingers, I became the best one in my Charms class."

"And how did you do, then? I have never been able to make a single spark fly from my rings."

"That's your first mistake, in fact. Rings aren't like wands, which channel your magic; instead, they focus your magic in your own body for you to make things work. Here, try concentrating on your fingertip while you wave it around."

At that stage Cherry returned her attention to the chat her brother was in the center of, but couldn't do but smile when a few minutes later a soft shower of blue sparks began coming off from Seamus' fingertip.

_… _

By now, as the noise level was making it clear that nobody was eating any longer, the desserts disappeared and Professor Dumbledore got to his feet again. The hall fell silent.

"Ahem… I'll have to comment you a few start-of-term notices before we uphold one of our most sacred Hogwarts traditions…" Several faint groans were heard at this "… And march to our beds.

"First years should note that there is a curfew to be respected every night, and that the Forbidden Forest is forbidden unless you have a special permission. A few of our older students would do well to remember those notices as well."

Dumbledore's eyes flashed toward the grinning figures of the Weasley twins.

"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, our caretaker, to remind you all that no magic or magical artifacts are to be used in the corridors between classes.

"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of term. Anyone interested in playing for their house's primary team should contact madam Hooch by then.

"The School now houses an Egyptian Sphinx in the central corridor of the South Wing's Fifth floor. Please be friendly with it, but never forget to respect it for what it is.

"And finally, anyone who enjoys being alive should avoid opening any locked doors in the third floor corridor on the East Wing. One of them now houses a fully grown Cerberus dog that had to be removed from the Forbidden Forest."

He made a little pause, to let the last detail sink in.

"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" Dumbledore cried. It was easily noticed that the other teachers' smiles had become rather fixed.

Dumbledore gave his wand a little flick as if trying to get a fly off its tip and a long golden ribbon flew out of it, which rose high above the tables and twisted itself snake like into words.

_… _

"Ah school;" Dumbledore said wiping his eyes. "That was absolutely dreadful!"

A general chuckle followed his remark. "And it is my sad duty to inform fifth years and above that the next rendition of the school song is scheduled three years from now, so you won't be part of it.

"And now is bedtime. Off you trot!"

The Gryffindor first years followed Ezri through the chattering crowds, out of the great Hall and up a marble staircase.

_… _

…A Poltergeist." She raised her voice, but not her friendly tone.

"How're you doing, Peeves? Had a nice, peeving vacation?"

"Not so much, Ezri; even throwing slime at the slime-ball's head gets old after a while."

Ezri giggled at that, and the voice laughed happily. There was a pop and a little man with wicked black eyes and a wide mouth appeared, clutching the walking sticks and floating in mid air. He turned at the children and grinned at them.

"So you are the new Lion cubs? I hope you aren't half as uptight as the Claws' usually are. In fact I think I'll have to verify that! See you all!"

And he zoomed away through the roof, incidentally dropping the sticks high over the "Lion cubs." The covered their heads, but a second before impact Ezri shouted something, and the sticks changed course to her outstretched arm.

"Peeves can never be truly called nice, but he can be a great source of laughs if you have a good sense of humor and an even better sense of when to dodge." She said sisterly, as she dropped the sticks aside and kept on walking down the corridor they were on.

"He doesn't truly respect anyone but the Bloody Baron, and if you are too uptight he can be like Hell. Oh, here we are." She stopped and her smile turned awkward.

"Hello, ma'am; had a nice holiday?"

At the very end of the corridor swung a life-size portrait of a very fat lady in a pink silk dress. She had her hands on her hips and was gazing at Ezri with a strange smile.

"I think I did fine, thanks. Now, could you please tell me the password, Miss Teheran?"

Ezri pouted; then she answered meekly.

"Will you ever forgive me? I did apologize and then I cleaned every last drop of ink from you."

"That is not the password, Ezri." The portrait said, still with her strange smile.

Ezri muttered some gibberish.

"Come on, Ezri, I couldn't hear that."

"Okay: What an adorable klutz!"

"Thank you." The portrait said grinning, as it swung forward to reveal a hole in the wall behind it. They all scrambled through it and found themselves in the Gryffindor Common Room, a cozy, ample room full of old-fashioned office furniture and squashy armchairs.

All heads accounted, she opened her arms to the room.

"Welcome to the Gryffindor Common Room, also known as the Tower Common Room. The Claws' is called Library Common Room, the Puff's is the Greenhouse Common Room, and the Sluts'… the Slits' I mean, is the Dungeon Common Room. You are not to allow anyone from another house into our common room, and you aren't allowed in any others' common rooms… so sneak in at your first chance."

Everyone chuckled.

"And now go up and find your dorms. I think this year the cubs' dorms should be on the second floor; don't take my word for it, though. Now, boys up that staircase…" She pointed across the room. "…And girls up this one." She pointed over her shoulder. "Now better get onto your beds, and enjoy your first night. Just don't stay awake too long: is nearly midnight, and breakfast is at eight o'clock."

She made a pause.

"I, on the other hand, am supposed to keep open the portrait hole and tell everyone the new password."

She scowled, and everyone else went up their staircases chortling.

Up the staircases both groups found their dorm rooms: half circular rooms with bathrooms by the stairwells, sinks and mirrors on the straight walls, and five four poster beds with velvet curtain lining the round wall of each room.

Too tired and stuffed to talk much further, both groups quickly settled down, changed to their sleeping apparels, and went to sleep.

_Insert Harry's dream_

Meanwhile, Cherry also had a strange dream. She was sitting on a park bench with her brother, talking about nothing in particular. After looking away for a second, she found her body sitting where Harry had been; she then looked down and saw that she was on Harry's body. Scared, she asked her alter-ego what was this. This alter-ego seemed mystified by her reaction, and on Harry's voice said that it wasn't such a great deal if he took a stride on her body, or her on his.

Harry woke up sweating and made a knot on his sheets. He opened the hangings enough to let air circulate, and fell asleep quickly after he had somewhat straightened up his sheets. Cherry woke up not so much later, somewhat sweaty and in need to hug Harry. Then she opened her eyes wide as she remembered the dream, and quickly her hands went to look for her breasts. She nearly panicked at feeling her chest so flat, but then she began berating herself at looking for something that she knew wasn't there… yet. She shock her head, and quickly fell asleep again feeling slightly annoyed with herself.

Both of the siblings remembered their dreams the day later, and yetthey both attributed them to the previous night overeating.

Nothing else for now

Bye


End file.
